Will of Fire and the Light Within
by KunoichiBlade
Summary: Manami is a Keybearer training under Eraqus in the Land of Departure. What happens when she can no longer summon her Keyblade? A recon mission gone wrong, and she's stuck in Konoha! Now Manami must learn the Will of Fire and blend in with the ninja community. Pre-BirthBySleep and Pre-Shippuden. LONG and In-Progress. *Should be able to read without knowing anything of either fandom.
1. A Summons

_Hey all! This is my first fanfic that I've really written. I've been dying to write it for the longest time! It's a crossover between Kingdom Hearts and Naruto (gee, I wonder where this is going xD ). Anywho, I hope you all enjoy and let me know what you think! ~KunoichiBlade_

 _Disclaimer: Alas, Kingdom Hearts belongs to Nomura..._

Ch 1: A Summons

Black pants ruffled against one another as a young lady ran through the halls. Her red shirt felt constricting and the blue vest half zipped up wasn't helping. _There's a reason why I hate running,_ she thought, huffing her way past the corridors.

Earlier that morning, the girl had received a letter asking her to see her master immediately. Stopping in front of a large doorway, she paused to collect herself.

 _I wonder what he wants_ , she mused to herself knocking on the door.

"Enter." called a deep male voice.

The young lady opened the doors and entered the room, closing them gently behind her. She walked to the center of the room and gave a slight bow to the man.

"You summoned me, Master Eraqus?" she inquired.

"Yes," he replied, adjusting his hooded white coat to a more comfortable position. Something was up, he wasn't normally this fidgety.

"What's wrong sir?" The girl began to worry. Master Eraqus wasn't one to beat around the bush when delivering news.

"As you probably heard," he continued, "I have been called to Disney Castle. It's nothing major, but will take some time. Probably about two weeks; but that's too long for you to go without training."

"Two weeks isn't long. You and I have been on longer missions before."

Eraqus shifted the dark teal armor piece around his midsection. It covered a navy blue top with a silver X across his chest and large tan pants. "True," he resumed, "but nonetheless, Manami, while I'm gone I would like you to continue your Keyblade training with Master Xehanort. He's an old friend of mine and is more than capable of taking care of you while I'm gone."

Manami glanced down at her black boots. He was avoiding her question, that much she knew, but why? "How soon do you leave, sir?" she queried looking back up.

"I leave in the morning. Take the day off and rest a bit; you've been working hard."

Repressing a sigh Manami replied, "Yes sir." And with a slight bow to her master, she left the room.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

While she hated to run, a walk she could handle. And so, Manami walked around the tower. It provided a good opportunity to clear her head. Especially after what just happened. Master Eraqus was leaving on a last minute notice with next to no explanation whatsoever. He hardly ever left for something on his own, but the few times he did leave, Eraqus had good reasons.

She dug around her pockets before coming across the object of her desire. Chocolate. A walk was nice, but the smooth richness of chocolate worked wonders to sooth the soul. Of course, the peace really only lasted as long as the piece in her mouth.

Stopping at one of the corridor windows, Manami leaned against the ledge in frustration. It wasn't often that she got time off and she didn't know what to do. Which was bad. Manami feared the idea of being left with her thoughts. She had a small tendency to overthink things when she thought about them too long. A gentle breeze blew through the open window, cooling Manami's face.

Inhale. Exhale. Count to ten. Breathe in. Breathe out.

It was a meditation technique her mother taught her, take a deep breath and count to ten. Manami didn't handle stress well and her mother knew this was the best way to calm her down. It's worked every time Manami became frustrated or stressed, and it worked this time as well.

Sighing once more, Manami continued her walk around the tower.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Manami woke up early the next morning. She tied the upper half her dirty blonde hair in a ponytail clip and adjusted her headband that matched her vest she shrugged on. Manami wanted to see her master off since he was going to be gone for a while. Master Eraqus had been so good to her ever since he took her in as his apprentice to become a Keyblade Master. While he may have been strict at times, Eraqus cared for Manami as if she were his own child.

As she walked to the launch pad, Manami scanned over the Gummi ship. No, it wasn't a ship made of gummies that you eat (as delicious as that would be), it was a ship that was powered off gummi blocks, a strange material that's stretchy and elastic that comes in different varieties.

A flash of spikey black hair caught Manami's stone blue eyes. Master Eraqus had arrived and was saying farewell to those who came. As he finished his goodbyes, Master Eraqus walked to the ship where Manami stood at attention once again. He placed a hand on her shoulder and nodded, a small smile tracing his lips. Manami smiled back at him.

"Take care, sir." she said softly.

Master Eraqus grinned even larger and shook his head. "I'll be fine," he replied, "It's you I'm worried about. Master Xehanort… his teaching methods are a bit different than mine. But, I'm sure you will manage just fine. Oh and try not to get into the chocolates too much!"

"Hahaha, I'll try my best. Thank you, sir. I await your return."

Chuckling with a final nod, Master Eraqus boarded the Gummi ship. Manami stood back and watched the ship leave, sighing when it was no longer in sight.

 _This is going to be a long two weeks_. Manami thought.

FIN

* * *

 _(if you're wondering where Naruto is, it's a little further down the story)_


	2. Temporary New Master

_Hope y'all liked the first chapter, and here's the second! Sorry the first one was a bit slow... this one has a little more action in it. ~KunoichiBlade_

 _Disclaimer: Again, KH is Nomura's..._

Ch 2: Temporary New Master

Manami ran through the halls to the front stone circle. There was no way she was going to be late to her first training session with Master Xehanort. Word around the tower was that even though he wasn't as strict was Eraqus, Xehanort loved to push his pupils to the extreme. Training them for hours on end with little break and sending them into combat far too soon for comfort. Manami did not want to get on his bad side.

Normally, Master Eraqus would take Manami to one of the surrounding mountain peaks to train. This provided variance in terrain so she would be prepared for whatever world she ventured too. Xehanort said he had other plans for her in the message he sent. Apparently, Eraqus had been "too soft" on her; Xehanort mentioned that he wanted to test Manami's abilities before moving forward. _Whatever that meant_.

She slid to a halt and burst through the main doors of the tower, leading to the front circular area. As she walked to the center of the courtyard, Manami scanned the area. Everything was… eerily calm. Which usually meant something was wrong. Her watch read 8:57am, three minutes before their appointed meeting time.

 _*Snap!*_

Manami whipped around in defense mode: arms in front for protection, legs apart and bent for stability. Nothing. She saw nothing. She heard nothing.

 _Something is definitely off,_ she thought.

A large black shadow branched off from one of the bordering bushes. It shifted to and fro in front of Manami. The shadow on the ground began to fold over on itself and rise from the ground. An actual _Shadow_. One of the beings known as Heartless: creatures of darkness that appear seemingly at random. _A Pureblood_ , she thought. It was a natural born you could say. They derived from the darkness that manifests in people's hearts.

Still in defense mode, Manami watched the Shadow waver back and forth. She kept a close eye on its sharp claws, its primary weapon. The antennas on its head swung left and right in front of beady yellow eyes.

 _Why is it here?_ Manami thought. _It's rare for Shadows to appear outside the Realm of Darkness._

Suddenly, the Shadow lunged forward in an attempt to scratch Manami. She jumped back, summoning her Keyblade, a giant key wielded like a sword. It was a standard Kingdom Key, no major modifications suited Manami's liking just yet but it still got the job done.

Squatting slightly, Manami tensed her legs and lunged at the Shadow. _I'm gonna squash you like the bug you are!_ She swung the Keyblade in an arc over her head, slicing the little black creature in two. It burst into a ball of black mist and disappeared completely.

 _*clap, clap, clap*_

Manami turned around to see an old man walking forward with a slow clap. She took in his peculiar attire: a long black coat with grey cuffs over a knee-length white tunic along with black pants and boots. Two belts wrapped around his waist and white gloves covered his hands. Overall his appearance was ominous and slightly menacing; Manami knew instantly to keep her mouth shut for fear of what he might do.

The old man stopped less than foot away from Manami but she dare not move. Rooted to the spot, blue eyes met gold as the two stared at each other. What felt like an eternity was probably only a minute. Finally, the old man spoke, "You did well against the Shadow. How long have you been training?"

"Around eight years, sir. Almost nine." she responded.

"When did you start? Age wise."

"Umm, when I was 15."

"Indeed! That would explain it. It appears Master Eraqus has taught you well these past years. But I'm afraid there is still much to work on."

"Sir?" Manami inquired. His voice had a rasp to it that did not help the creepy factor. It took every ounce of control Manami had not to shiver in front of him.

The man stared at her for a minute then turned on his heels. "You've done well, girl, but there is much you still lack. I have much to work on while Eraqus is gone."

 _So this must be Master Xehanort!_ Manami thought. _But what was with the Shadow? Was he the one to bring it here? How is that possible?! No wonder Master Eraqus was worried. I don't know if I can handle this._

Manami started to follow Master Xehanort, but he raised his hand indicating her not to follow. When he reached the edge of the stone structure, Xehanort turned around and grinned at her deviously, holding up his fingers. The middle and thumb touched, almost as if-

"Now. Let's see what you're really made of girl."

 _*snap*_

FIN


	3. Training

_Now the real fun begins! Fight scenes are always interesting to write.  
Oh, and if you see a (*), it means I have and explanation at the end._ _Enjoy! ~KB_

 _Disclaimer: Sadly, Kingdom Hearts belongs to Nomura..._

Ch 3: Training.

"Now. Let's see what you're really made of girl."

Master Xehanort snapped his fingers and two Neoshadows appeared. They were just like Shadows, but much larger. Unlike the Shadow from earlier, these Neoshadows had more of a humanoid structure than a bug's. Manami's eyes flickered between the two Purebloods. Their antennas fell behind the head this time but their claws were just as menacing.

She recalled that when they sank into the ground, it just created a black circular shadow rather than a structural shadow. The Neoshadows began to stalk around Manami but she kept her ground and bared her Keyblade. This wasn't going to be easy.

One of the Neoshadows lunged at Manami, but she dodge rolled to the side. Bouncing up from the roll, she swung her Keyblade at the Pureblood. It barely grazed its back, hardly leaving a scratch. Keeping with the momentum, Manami began a flurry of attacks. Each hit became more critical but suddenly the Neoshadow sank into the ground.

 _Crap! Uh-oh. Where's the other one?_

Glancing around, Manami saw two black circles on the ground rapidly moving about. They were trying to find her. _Double crap_ , she thought. There was nothing she could do when they were shadows on the ground, she would have to wait until they resurfaced. That was never fun. When a Neoshadow resurfaced it did one of three things: it either appeared normally, speed lunged towards its target, or sent out a shockwave that blinds its opponent.

The most that Manami could do was to keep running. As much as she hated running, she hated Heartless scratches even more. Those suckers hurt! Even with a potion, it still stung for nearly four days afterwards on missions. Dodge rolls and jumps worked, but not as effectively.

Both Neoshadows surfaced at the same time. And they decided to send out a shockwave, _together_. Greeeeaaaaat. Manami tried to jump out of the way but was hit midair. She stumbled onto the grass and blinked. _No. No no no no no!_ she mentally screamed. Manami wasn't completely blinded but everything was spotty.

This had only happened to her twice before. The first time Master Eraqus was with her in Beast's Castle and was able to fend off the Heartless while Manami stumbled about. The second time, she was alone in Agrabah*. It was only one Neoshadow but the first she had dealt with alone. Once she was hit, black spots appeared in her eyes as if she looked at the sun for too long. Direct attacks didn't work, Manami learned, because their black bodies blended so well with the spots, every attack became a miss until the spots wore off.

Manami scrambled up from the grass and went into defense mode. As fun as straight up attacking was, it also lead to more injuries. Defense let her get close to her opponent then land a few good blows before getting away with minimal injury. She caught a glimpse of one of the Neoshadows out of the corner of her eye and swung her Keyblade at it.

 _I missed. Go figure_ , Manami mocked to herself. The spots were finally beginning to fade and Manami wanted to end this fight. She was getting tired from so much running, another reason she hated it.

Blinking a couple of times, the spots disappeared from sight. It was time to go on the offensive and get this over with.

Manami took a deep breath and charged between the two Heartless. She swung her Keyblade in practiced motions around her body, landing blow after blow on each of the Neoshadows. Being so close to them, Manami took her fair share of damage as well. Minor scratches were scattered on her legs, arms, and sides. Nothing too bad, but enough to cause concern.

Manami blocked a Scratch attempt and was knocked back a few yards. She charged at them again but they sank into the ground. Manami stood still until both Heartless were under her then jumped out of the way right as they surfaced. She had anticipated the shockwave they sent out and managed to avoid it this time. Closing in on them, Manami dashed forward dealing the final blow to both Neoshadows.

 _Finally. It's over. 'Bout freggin' time!_ she thought.

Resisting the urge to collapse on the grass and take a nap, Manami scanned the area for any other Heartless. All appeared clear in the rising sunlight; except for that shadowy figure approaching her.

Manami took defensive position before realizing that it was Master Xehanort walking towards her. He looked exactly like a Heartless to her exhausted mind; what, with his hunched over shoulders, yellow eyes, and front hiding in a shadow. Yeah. He could pass as one.

 _He probably_ is _one_ , Manami mused suppressing a grin.

"Not too bad," Master Xehanort commented, "but I honestly had expected more from you. After training with Master Eraqus for so long, I hadn't expected the fight to last most of morning."

Manami bit her tongue, repressing a sharp retort. He threw a Shadow and _two_ Neoshadows at her, what did he expect?!

 _I was right. He's trying to kill me._

"Go get some fresh clothes on. Those are practically falling off after so many scratches you obtained." Manami glanced down to see slits in her black pants and along her sides and arms. She noted how he never once mentioned her injuries. _Some Master_ , she thought.

Bowing to Master Xehanort, Manami left the courtyard being careful of her injuries.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Back in her room, Manami let down her hair and cast her ripped clothes into the laundry basket. They were still good, all they needed was a quick repair job. Her mother taught her how to sew clothes; a simple but convenient trait. They made good work-out or training clothes.

The scratches she received stung when she applied some ointment. They'd fade after a couple of days when treated to immediately, otherwise they'd continue to hurt like when she got them on missions. Wrapping bandages around the wounds for safe measure, Manami threw on some old clothes she used for training. If Master Xehanort was going to continue like this, she didn't want any more of her favorite outfits damaged or torn to shreds.

She threw her hair back up and glanced in the mirror. A little ruffled but presentable. If there was one thing her dad taught her, it was to always be respectful as well as being presentable. First impressions had major impact on how people treated you until they got to know you. Manami grimaced at the thought, _I doubt Master 'Wants-to-kill-me' wants to get to know me_.

Breathing deeply, Manami grudgingly exited her room and walked down towards the front courtyard again.

FIN

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

*AN – Beast's Castle is from Beauty and the Beast and Agrabah is from Aladdin.

 _So what'd ya think? Opinions, thoughts, comments, concerns would be nice ^_^  
Please leave a review! ~KunoichiBlade_


	4. Enough

_Bit of a short chapter, but super important! Probably answers a few of your questions.  
I know, I know... When are we gonna get to Naruto stuff? I'm sorry to say that the plot has developed so much that I had to delay Manami leaving. Besides, she can't go anywhere with the Gummi ship gone xD  
I hope you enjoy! ~KB  
Disclaimer: KH belongs to Nomura... _

Ch 4: Enough

It's been less than a week since Master Eraqus left and Manami was about ready to strangle her temporary teacher. What? It's only fair since she's nearly _died_ every single day. Okay, that may be a bit of an exaggeration but that's what it felt like. For the past five days, Manami has had to fight an exponentially growing number of Heartless. While it was good practice for when she encountered them on missions, fighting so many Heartless in such a short time span was beginning to take its toll.

Manami huffed as she fell back into defense. Today she was fighting a hoard of Shadows. _How on earth can so many fit into one tiny courtyard?! They just keep coming and coming._

During every fight, Manami lost track of Master Xehanort. It felt like he completely disappeared during her "training" sessions. How was she supposed to improve if he never gave feedback because he was never there! When he did reappear (once all the Heartless were gone), it was always with a disappointed "Humph" or shake of the head. Why was this man never pleased with her work?!

The frustration and anger she felt grew with every blow towards a Shadow. What more did Xehanort want from her? * _slash_ * Couldn't he see Manami was trying her hardest? * _swipe_ * What did she do to deserve this? * _slice_ * Why wasn't it enough?!

Manami took a final swing and finished off the last Shadow. Her breathing was labored from fighting so many; she lost count less than five minutes in. Scoping the courtyard, Manami couldn't find Master Xehanort anywhere. Her grip on her Kingdom Key tightened when she spotted him watching out of a corridor window. _Perfectly out of any harm's way_ , she mentally growled, walking back to her room for the evening.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Master Xehanort had watched the entire battle. His friend, Eraqus had done a fine job with the young girl but she was too defensive and soft-hearted for his liking. And so long as he was her teacher, he was going to change that.

She already had one foot out the door he opened. Near the end of the fight, Xehanort noticed Manami catch a second wind. Sure, that had happed these past few days, but none like this time. There was a fire in her eyes signaling the brawl was already won. She finished the last of the Shadows in mere minutes after that. He could see the darkness in her heart beginning to surface, and he was going to use that to his full advantage.

The balance between Light and Dark favored the light too much in his opinion. People like Eraqus felt that the Darkness was a bad thing, and it was… unless one knew how to control it. Xehanort took it upon himself to research the Realm of Darkness so he could control the Heartless. That's when he stumbled upon the Corridors of Darkness.

Xehanort discovered that Heartless escape the Ream of Darkness through the Corridors of Darkness. After a few daring attempts, Xehanort discovered that people could travel through the corridors as well. These recent days with Manami proved how efficient the corridors could be for travel. Within minutes, Xehanort could bring a swarm of Heartless to a desired area. He just had to make sure the Heartless were ready ahead of time, which usually meant traveling to the Realm of Darkness beforehand and luring a hoard together.

Previous research showed that Heartless were greatly drawn to Keybearers; Heartless would hone on the Keyblade for some reason to guide them to its wielder. Using this information, Xehanort traveled to the Realm of Darkness, summoning his Keyblade to round up the Heartless. When the time was right, he would open a Corridor of Darkness and send the Heartless to Manami to fight.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Manami swept her Keyblade around, defeating the last Neoshadow. It was Day Nine since Master Eraqus left for Disney Castle and it consisted of five Neoshadows during the morning bout. The sun reached its peak not too long ago and Master Xehanort had appeared from his hiding spot.

"Go eat," called Master Xehanort, "you'll need your energy for this afternoon's match."

"Yes sir," Manami replied, "but real quick, before we go, may I ask you a question?"

"You just did."

Manami's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. "A different question, sir."

"Oh, I suppose so. But make it quick. You're wasting time."

 _She_ was wasting time?! He was the one avoiding her question before she even asked it!

"If you don't mind my asking, sir, why are you having me fight so many Heartless? Where are they coming from?!"

Master Xehanort looked at her for a moment before responding, "That's two questions, girl."

Manami blushed in embarrassment as she mumbled, "Sorry."

"I suppose it's only fair though," he continued, "since you are the one fighting them."

Manami looked up in astonishment. She hadn't actually expected him to answer her after that comment.

"The reason you're fighting so many Heartless is because I felt you were under-prepared for actual combat when you go to different worlds. While Master Eraqus has done well to teach you the basics, I thought you needed a more practical experience if you truly want to help."

 _So I'm not good enough for real missions, is what he's saying,_ she thought.

"As for where the Heartless come from, the Land of Departure lies in the Realm Between, which is between the Realm of Darkness and the Realm of Light. As we travel to worlds in the Realm of Light, so can we travel to the Realm of Darkness. It's a bit trickier, but manageable. I've managed to find a way to easily transport Heartless as I desire."

Manami stared at Master Xehanort. It was forbidden to venture into the Realm of Darkness. No one had gathered enough information to travel safely, and live that is. To hear that Master Xehanort was able to go back and forth, on multiple occasions, was unbelievable. Manami wanted to ask more, but she was afraid of how Xehanort would respond. So, she bowed to him and left for lunch.

FIN

 _Wow. That was an interesting chapter to write O.o  
So what'd y'all think? Lemme know so I know what to write! ~KB_


	5. Of Dreams and Doubt

_Hello again! I hope you enjoy the latest chapter! ~KB  
Disclaimer: KH is Nomura's..._

Ch 5: Of Dreams and Doubt

Manami collapsed on her bed without even removing her training gear. To say she was exhausted was an understatement. It's been twelve days since Master Eraqus left and twelve days since Master Xehanort started his version of training. That version was intense. Countless Heartless were thrown at her every single day, from dawn till dusk. Okay, 8am to 7pm with a minor lunch break, same difference!

Master Xehanort's attitude towards her didn't help. The way he spoke to her a couple of days ago really irked her. But what bothered Manami even more was his answers. He basically stated that he could go in and out of the Realm of Darkness as he pleased. Or, at least had access to it.

Manami rolled over on her bed into a more comfortable position. She was also a bit discouraged by his wording. Master Xehanort had practically told her that she wasn't ready to go on missions. Sure, she had been on some before, but that was usually a routine check to make sure all was peaceful. A simple scan through a world to make sure it wasn't slipping into the Darkness.

It was only on occasion that Manami had to fight a Heartless in the field. That only happened when the Heartless somehow managed to escape the Realm of Darkness and find its way into a world. It was always by accident. Any actual reports of Heartless sightings meant that Master Eraqus was usually the one to disperse them while Manami was left in the Land of Departure.

Did he do that to her on purpose? Was she really not good for anything other than recon? After all these years of training, what was she good for?

 _I'm so useless_ , Manami thought drowsily. _I'm never of any actual use around here_.

Finally, sleep overtook her.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

 _Everything was dark. She couldn't see anything around her._

 _A soft glow in the distance caught Manami's eye. She began to walk towards it, but she wasn't actually walking. It was more like floating._

 _Moving her legs, Manami began to drift towards the glow. As she grew closer, Manami could distinguish a body. No, two bodies. Manami squinted her eyes; it was her parents!_

 _"_ _Mom! Dad!" she called. They turned around to face her, each smiling widely._

 _Tears streamed down her cheeks. It had been so long since Manami had seen her parents. She started to run towards them, but instead she began to drift farther away. The harder she ran, the further away from her parents she drifted._

 _"_ _No. No! Mom, Dad!" Manami cried, but it was no use. They were so far away from her now, they were nothing but a faint light. Eventually Manami was left in the black nothingness once again._

 _The surrounding air began to change. It felt heavier than before. Manami could feel herself float down until her feet touched something solid. The ground was— cold._

 _The black around Manami faded to reveal the front courtyard of the Land of Departure. It was middle of the night, but Manami could still make everything out from the far staircase to the leaves on the bushes. What drew her attention were the two figures standing in the middle of the stone center._

 _Looking closer, Manami saw it was Master Eraqus and Master Xehanort standing across from one another. Something didn't feel right._

 _Manami's eyes widened as she saw Xehanort raise his hand. Before she could warn Master Eraqus, Xehanort snapped his fingers. Heartless sprung from every corner, Shadows and Neoshadows alike. Manami jumped forward in an attempt to aid her master, but black smoky tendrils grabbed her wrists, preventing her helping. More wrapped around her ankles and waist. She was completely immobile._

 _"_ _Master Eraqus!" she screamed, but it appeared he couldn't hear her. Eraqus had already summoned his Keyblade and was fending off the Heartless as best he could. Master Xehanort was nowhere to be seen and the Heartless just kept attacking._

 _Manami struggled against her bonds. She had to get free. She had to help. Yet no matter how much she tried, Manami could not break free._

 _The Heartless were overpowering Eraqus by this point. Manami caught glimpses of Master Eraqus under the bodies of black that piled on top of him. Every second, more and more Heartless added to the pile and Manami could only see a mass of black in front of her._

 _He was losing. Master Eraqus was losing the fight. And there was nothing she could do. The black strands around her wrists and ankles had spread to her arms and legs by now. Tears streamed down her cheeks again as she watched her master fall from the sidelines._

 _Laughter. Manami heard laughter. It rang throughout the courtyard, powerful and menacing. It even mocked her. Manami looked around frantically for the source but she couldn't pin it. Then it stopped. The mass of Heartless in front of her began to disperse. Each Heartless disappeared into the surrounding shadows. Manami's eyes widened when she saw Master Eraqus lying motionless on the ground._

 _"_ _No. No! NO!" she cried._

 _Manami sank to her knees. Her master was gone._

 _A sound above startled Manami. She looked up and nearly fell backwards from what she saw. A giant pair of yellow eyes shined down on the scene below. She knew those eyes. Those eyes that tormented her for the past two weeks._

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Manami gasped as she woke up in a cold sweat; it wasn't often she had dreams. She closed her eyes again and opened them immediately. Those yellow eyes kept appearing every time she closed hers.

Manami rubbed her eyes and peaked outside. Dawn was close, from the look of it she had almost another hour and a half before she normally woke up. Yawning, Manami flopped back in bed. It was too early for her liking.

Groaning in frustration, Manami sat up in her bed, reflecting on her dream. She was saddened by its accuracy. In the dream she was held back by shadows, but what held her back in the real world? She was so useless… unable to help those in trouble. It was always Master Eraqus to her aid. Never the other way around.

 _I must be such a burden to him_ , she thought sadly. _Can I even do anything right?_

Manami laid back down in bed, still awake. There was no point in getting up so early. She knew she was gonna need her energy for the day. At the rate things were going with her training, she could use all the extra energy she could get.

FIN

 _So what'd you think? Thoughts, comments, reviews are welcome! ~KB_


	6. Problems

_Welcome one, welcome all! I hope you've enjoyed the story so far and thank you for continuing to read! It really means a lot to me, so thank you everyone. I realize that we're 6 chapters in and Manami is still in the Land of Departure... I blame it on the short chapter lengths x( On average now, my chapters are about 1100 words and most long fic have a 2-3000+words per chapter. And I have this feeling that my chapters are getting longer too... But I'm rambling by this point. Enjoy! ~KB_

 _Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts belongs to T. Nomura._

Ch 6: Problems

Manami stepped heavily into the clearing. After tomorrow Master Eraqus would be back and things would return to normal. Hopefully all this "training" she's done for the past two weeks have been worth it.

A slight breeze blew past and all was quite. Each step forward felt like Manami was walking to her own funeral. Her heart was heavy and burned in her chest. _Can I really do this again?_

Knowing she was about to fight Heartless again, Manami took a deep breath and summoned her Keyblade. But something was off. _It took a bit longer to appear than normal_ , she thought.

Manami didn't have time to question things as the usual hoard of Heartless appeared. She crouched down in a fighting stance and prepared for the oncoming attack. Today there were more Neoshadows than normal, so she needed to be careful.

The Heartless began their assault and Manami flew into action. Remnants of her dream lingered in her mind as she swung her Keyblade. The helplessness she felt before fueled her desire to do better. But there was a problem. The Heartless weren't disappearing as fast as before. Usually it only took a few hits on a Shadow for it to disappear, now it took at least twice that much. The Neoshadows were even worse. It was like they didn't even feel any of her hits!

Fear arose in Manami and she began to worry. What was going on? Why was it harder to defeat the Heartless? She had been doing this for days now, why was today any different?

Manami swung her Keyblade over her head from behind to hit the Shadow in front of her. On contact the Shadow burst into a puff of darkness. And her Keyblade shattered. It freaking _shattered_ into a hundred tiny fragments of light.

Manami's eye's widened, _I am so screwed_.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Up in the tower, Master Xehanort watched the events below unfold. He had two days to finish stirring up the darkness in Manami's heart. Once he accomplished that, his plans could be set in motion.

A bright flash below caught his eye.

Glancing down into the courtyard, Xehanort saw Manami standing in the middle if a mass of Pureblood Heartless _without_ her Keyblade. He could see the terror in her eyes as she stood in shock.

This was an interesting development, but not what he wanted. Xehanort wanted the darkness in her heart to manifest and that couldn't happen if she couldn't fight.

He summoned a Corridor of Darkness and walked through.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Manami was frozen in place. Her Keyblade disappeared. It _disappeared_. Poof. Gone. Bye-bye. _How am I supposed to fight now?!_ she mentally screamed. Only a Keyblade could make the Heartless disappear for good. Anything else would just make them return to the Realm of Darkness where they could reform.

Manami stumbled forward after a scratch to her back. She had been so shocked she didn't think about all the Heartless around her and one had attacked from behind.

She tried to summon her Keyblade again. Nothing.

Again.

Again.

 _DARN IT_.

Manami scanned around for something to use, a branch, a pebble, _something_. Nothing; there was absolutely nothing she could use. _Why do they have to do such a good job cleaning the place?_ she whined in her head.

A black portal emerged in front of Manami out of nowhere. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Master Xehanort step out of it. What was he doing here?!

Manami gasped when Master Xehanort summoned his Keyblade. His was broader than the basic Kingdom Key Manami had, with two decorated black bars leading to the teeth* at the end. Multiple curved spikes protruded from it and there was a blue stone toward the teeth. It looked nasty and menacing, much like its master.

Xehanort swung his Keyblade and destroyed a whole line of Shadows in front of him.

 _So this is a true master's power_. Manami was awestruck.

Manami sat back and watched Master Xehanort expertly defeat the Heartless that appeared. Left and right he swung his Keyblade, only needing a couple of hits each before they disappeared.

When the last Heartless was gone, Xehanort dismissed his Keyblade and turned to Manami. "What happened?" he asked.

Manami stared at him. "I- I uh," her voice left her. There was no way he would believe her.

"Spit it out, girl!"

"I- The Keyblade, it just… disappeared."

"Explain."

"When I first summoned it, I noticed a delay in its appearance. I also noticed that it took more hits to defeat each Heartless today. As I finished off a Shadow, my Keyblade shattered and wouldn't come back when I tried to summon it again."

Master Xehanort stared at her for a minute, analyzing her. Why would the Keyblade suddenly abandon its wielder?

"I see," he finally replied, "Well, there's no point in continuing this if you can't wield you're Keyblade. I will discuss this with Master Eraqus when he returns."

With that, Master Xehanort walked passed Manami and left the courtyard.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Manami closed the door to her room and leaned her back against it. What was going to happen now that she couldn't wield her Keyblade?

She sighed deeply and flopped on her bed. Chocolate didn't even sound appealing to her, that's how upset Manami was.

 _On the bright side, I have tomorrow off_ , she thought.

 _Yeah, and what are you gonna do all day if you can't train?_ she countered herself.

 _I could, uhh-_

 _That's right. You're so focused on training, you have no hobbies!_

 _Shut up._

Manami's mental arguments were always interesting. She had a tendency to over analyze problems she confronted. And this was a heck of a problem. No matter how she looked at it, there was nothing else she could do. The Keyblade wouldn't come to her, plain and simple. _So much for becoming a Keyblade Master_.

Sitting up, Manami walked over to her desk and pulled out pen and paper. Taking a deep breath, she began to write. Well, she tried anyway. Manami's hand was shaking so bad, she had to put the pen down.

Tears streamed down her cheeks. This was it. So many years of training, wasted. How would she face her parents? What was she going to do when she returned home?

 _I have no special skills. I can't do anything right. I'm such a failure_.

Manami sobbed on her desk, warping the paper. _Oh no_ , she thought, _what will Master Eraqus think of me?! He'll probably hate me for wasting his time when he could've been mentoring someone else._ At the thought, Manami cried even harder.

 _How did things turn out so badly?_

FIN

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

*The teeth is the part that sticks out at the end of the Keyblade.

 _Uh oh, what will Manami do now?! Well, you're gonna have to wait a little longer than normal to find out. I'm going on vacation for a little while and won't be able to post anything. But that doesn't mean you can't leave a comment or review! I promise to read them when I get back ~KunoichiBlade_


	7. Return

_How've y'all been? You miss me yet? Lol, had a wonderful vacation this past week but it's nice to be home. Did manage to write ahead some more though! Anyways, enjoy! ~KB  
Disclaimer: KH is Nomura's_

Ch 7: Return

Just like Master Xehanort told her, Manami took the last day off. There wasn't much she could do anyway. Not with her Keyblade gone.

 _This sucks_ , she thought solemnly. She couldn't travel anywhere because Master Eraqus had the Gummi Ship and she didn't want to walk around the tower in case she encountered another Heartless. Knowing Master Xehanort could retrieve them at will unsettled her. Manami would be completely defenseless if she came across a stray Shadow. So, she confined herself to her room for the day and if she was honest with herself, she was sulking.

She laid on her bed and stared at envelop lying on her desk. Manami had finally managed to calm herself down enough last night to write the letter. Now it was mocking her from where it laid innocently on her desk.

Manami rolled over on her back and sighed. _What to do, what to do?_

Manami stared at the books packed on her shelf. Every spine she looked at reminded her of the world bound in those pages. Many reminded her of the worlds she often visited. All of the adventures she went on, the places she seen. It always amazed her at how different yet how similar the cultures could be. There was always a story to be told, one just had to be willing to hear it.

She knew the stories inside and out, so rereading one for the umph-tienth time was not the most appealing. But there were her clothes that needed repairing; Manami hadn't had a chance to repair all the Scratch holes yet.

 _Yes_ , she thought, _that's a good idea. It's productive and relaxing. Thank goodness Mom taught me how before I left home._

So Manami set to work on sewing up the torn bits of clothing, starting with her pants. They had the most holes. As she sewed, Manami absent mindedly began to hum. It was a soft, sad tune that she had heard on a mission one day. The tune matched her feelings toward the future. Without the Keyblade, Manami would have to reconsider everything. It had been her dream, her ambition for so many years to become a Keyblade Master. She would've been able to travel to many different worlds and help out where ever and whenever she was needed.

And all of that disappeared when her Keyblade shattered in her hands.

Manami had stopped humming and set her pants on her lap. A small frown had edged onto her lips and tears began rolling down her cheeks once more. Out of the corner of her misty eyes, Manami caught the white of the envelop that sat on her desk containing the letter. She cried even harder as it mocked her. The contents burning in her heart.

 _It's all over now,_ she thought grabbing the letter. Manami walked out of her room and down the hall, her steps heavy with dread. Reaching her destination, Manami slipped inside and dropped off the letter.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Master Eraqus had finally arrived late that evening. Things were worse than he imagined. The meeting with the King was more than he bargained for this time around.

He rubbed a hand down his face in exhaustion; he was getting to old for this.

Master Eraqus entered his office and sat down at his desk, turning on the small desk lamp. It was far too late to ponder what happened at the meeting. He would have to discuss it with Xehanort in the morning. Things were about to get interesting.

Before Eraqus could turn off the light, something white caught his eye. It peaked out from a stack of paper collected during his departure. It looked like it had been shoved in the midst of the stack, almost as if someone were trying to be inconspicuous about it.

He reached over and wiggled it out of the stack. There was no name or anything; it wasn't even addressed to him! Master Erqaus flipped the envelop over. Nothing. Curiosity got the better of him and Eraqus went ahead and opened the envelop.

Inside was a single sheet of paper. He pulled out the sheet and unfolded it to reveal a letter.

Eraqus' eyes widened at the contents and his jaw dropped slightly in disbelief. This couldn't be happening. With everything that's been happening and now _this_?!

 _Looks like my meeting with Xehanort will have to be postponed_ , he thought.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

The following morning, Manami jumped when she heard a knock at her door. She didn't realize that she was so intent on continuing her sewing repair that she tuned everything out!

Opening her door, Manami saw one of the tower servants. There weren't too many of them, just a few for cleaning and cooking but they were paid well by Master Eraqus and Master Xehanort.

"Ma'am," he began, "Master Eraqus requests an audience with you. _Immediately_."

Manami's eyes widened ever so slightly. _What could he possibly want?_ she thought _. No, he couldn't have- could he?_

"Thank you." Manami replied, giving a slight bow. And she bolted down the corridor.

FIN

 _Ooooooooooo, what's in the letter? What is so urgent that M. Eraqus postponed his meeting with Xehanort?! Stay tuned to find out! Leave a review and let me know what you think! ~KB_


	8. The Meeting

_Sorry for the late post everyone! Hope you all are enjoying the holidays (for those of you that have it). So here's a new chapter to celebrate! Lol. Time to find out what Master Eraqus wanted with Manami. Oh, I also want to say thank you to my two betas, SolaShines and a non-FFn user; they have helped immensely in correcting my grammar and keeping my story on track. Anyways, enjoy my darlings! ~KB  
_ _Disclaimer: I don't own KH... it belongs to Nomura-san._

Ch 8: The Meeting

"Enter," called a deep voice.

Manami took a deep breath and entered Master Eraqus office. He stood behind his desk, staring out the window.

Manami bowed deeply. "You requested an audience, Master Eraqus?"

"Yes," he replied, turning around to face her. "I was hoping you would be able to explain what this is."

Master Eraqus stepped in front of his desk and held out a sheet of paper. Manami stiffened; she didn't even have to look at it. She knew it was the letter she sent him.

"That would be my letter of resignation sir."

"And do tell me, why are you resigning?" he said, knitting his eyebrows together.

"Because I can no longer adequately preform my duties as a Keyblade wielder." she replied coldly.

Master Eraqus stared at Manami for a moment. This was a girl who put forth her full effort into becoming a Keyblade Master. She had trained under him from the day of her arrival. He was well aware of her low self-esteem but never had he thought he would see the day where she would just give up.

Manami stared back at Master Eraqus. _He's gonna kill me. I'm so dead. Is this how a Heartless feels when it's about to die? I knew he'd be mad at me. I'm dead. After all these years-_

Her thoughts were abruptly cut off as Master Eraqus spoke, "So you believe, that because you can no longer summon the Keyblade I'm going to kick you out and send you home?"

Manami hung her head and responded, "Yes, sir."

Eraqus looked at her in disbelief and shook his head.

"Manami, look at me," he said. And she did. Her eyes widened in shock. Master Eraqus had crumpled her letter into a ball and _lit it on fire_.

"That's what I think," he said to her, smirking. "Manami, you should know that I wouldn't send you home immediately. We're going to try and fix this first."

Manami's jaw hit the floor. "But Master Eraqus, I can't summon my Keyblade! No matter what I do it won't come. How can I continue if I can't-"

"Stop right there," he said sternly. "I am more than well aware of your situation. You made it perfectly clear in your letter," he said, gesturing to the pile of ash on the floor.

Manami blushed in embarrassment.

"Now," he continued, placing his hands on Manami's shoulders, "we are going to figure out what happened and why your Keyblade disappeared. I'm sure this isn't the first time this has happened, but we'll have to do some research. We will find a way you can summon your Keyblade again."

Manami couldn't believe her ears. _This may not be the end! I still have a chance._

"If that is all, you are dismissed." he finished, patting her on the back.

Manami started to leave but stopped in her tracks. She turned around and said, "Actually sir, there is one thing I would like to discuss with you."

"Alright. Go ahead."

Manami took a deep breath. "Uhh, this might take a while sir."

Master Eraqus gave her a quizzical look and gestured to a chair at the side of his desk. Manami nodded and pulled it in front of the desk as Master Eraqus pulled his in front as well. Seldom did Manami seem this concerned about things and Eraqus was giving her his undivided attention.

"Sir," she began, "I hate to question the teaching methods of another, but what Master Xehanort had me do was unbelievable. Every single day for the past two weeks he's had me fight against countless Heartless."

Master Eraqus was shocked, to say the least. Never had he imagined that Xehanort would throw something like this at his student. Heartless could be formidable creatures if proper precautions weren't taken.

"It started out with only a few," Manami continued. "First it was a Shadow and a couple of Neoshadows. Then it was five Shadows and one Neoshadow. The number of each would vary day by day, but more and more appeared with each session. The morning sessions were lighter than the afternoon ones; almost as if they were warm ups. Next thing I know, I'm continuously fighting Heartless for hours on end."

"Where are all these Heartless coming from?" Master Eraqus questioned.

"I'm not entirely sure about that sir," Manami replied, "Having to fight the Heartless so often, I tried asking Master Xehanort but he didn't give me a direct answer. He just said that I needed a more 'practical experience' than our normal training. As for where they come from-"

Manami suddenly fell silent. Her eyes fell to her lap and Master Eraqus knit his brows together in concern. He reached out and held the top of her hand. Manami looked up, eyes full of fear.

"It's all right," he reassured her. "You can tell me."

Manami breathed deeply and continued, "Sir, Master Xehanort didn't exactly say how he did it, but something he said bothered me. He assumed that if we could travel to the Realm of Light, we should be able to reach the Realm of Darkness. I think that's how he's gathering all the Heartless together."

Once Manami finished speaking, Master Eraqus released a sigh. Things weren't going well at the Castle and to hear that his own friend was traveling to the Realm of Darkness. Eraqus marveled at how quickly things were unraveling.

"I will speak with him," he told her. "This is definitely news to me, thank you."

With a slight bow, Manami left his office.

Master Eraqus went back to his window and started outside. Things were indeed taking a turn for the worse.

FIN

 _Ooooooooo, somebody's in trouble *dances around room* What do you think's gonna happen? What do you want to happen? Please review! They help in planning and writing. Thanks for reading! ~KunoichiBlade_


	9. A Confrontation

_OMS. I am SOOOOO sorry I haven't posted this sooner! Not gonna lie, I completely lost track of time. I blame summer vacation. So please don't hate me!  
How about I give you a really really good chapter to make up for it? Lots of action goin' on here- So grab the popcorn! ~KunoichiBlade_

 _Disclaimer: KH belongs to Nomura... (for now)_

Ch 9: A Confrontation

Manami roamed the halls of the tower, allowing her thoughts to wander. She was thrilled Master Eraqus was giving her a second chance and couldn't ask for anything more.

Shouting interrupted Manami's thoughts. Angry shouting at that. Manami listened carefully and followed the racket to its source.

She found herself standing outside Master Eraqus' office, muffled yelling creeping through the door that was slightly ajar.

Concerned for her master, Manami silently stepped towards the door and peaked inside. She caught a glimpse of Master Eraqus and Master Xehanort standing across from one another in the middle of an intense argument. Eraqus was on the other side of the room facing Manami while Xehanort was closer to the door with his back turned.

"Don't you realize how dangerous that is?!" shouted Master Eraqus taking a half step towards Xehanort. "The Darkness is not something to be taken lightly!"

"It is not something to be afraid of!" retaliated Master Xehanort, stepping forward himself. "If we can understand it, we will be able to control it!"

"Understand it? _Understand it?!_ " Eraqus walked over to Xehanort. "There is nothing to understand! It is evil and corrupted, it should not be tampered with!"

Xehanort waved his hand at Master Eraqus. "Then why are you so set on destroying it?!"

Eraqus scowled at Xehanort. "I'm not trying to destroy it, I'm trying to put it in its place!"

Xehanort placed his hands behind his back and asked, "And where might that be?"

"In the Realm of Darkness!" Eraqus responded angrily walking back towards his desk. "Where it belongs. That's why it's called that!"

Xehanort shook his head. Manami couldn't see his face, but the step back that Master Eraqus took set off alarms in her head.

"You fool!" Xehanort exclaimed, "There needs to be a proper balance of Light and Darkness. In its present state, the Light is far too prominent! I am simply trying to even the playing field."

As Xehanort paused, Manami's view of Master Eraqus was blocked when Xehanort moved forward.

"And the best way to even the playing field, is to level it with another Keyblade War." he said in a low tone.

A disturbing silence settled between the two. _But, the last time there was a Keyblade War-_ , thought Manami, _everything was covered in darkness and it was what tore the worlds apart!_

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that," Manami felt a chill run down her spine from Master Eraqus cold words.

"It doesn't matter if you will let me or not," Xehanort continued, "it's only a matter of time."

The two Keyblade Masters stepped out of Manami's view. She leaned her ear against the opening in the door.

 _*shing!*_

Her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. That sound. There was only one thing that made that sound.

 _*shing!*_

There it was again. _No._ she thought. _They wouldn't._

Manami opened the door a bit more to see it if was true.

And it was.

Master Xehanort and Master Eraqus had summoned their Keyblades.

Manami's eyes widened. _Why would they pull their Keyblades on one another?!_

Manami didn't have time to think. Before she knew it, Master Xehanort had lunged at Master Eraqus and the door slammed shut. Wait- THE DOOR SHUT. Manami grabbed the door handle and jiggled. Locked. She was locked out.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Xehanort summoned his Keyblade. He had enough of this mindless argument.

Eraqus summoned his Keyblade in retaliation, the silver box joints and copper rods glinting in the light.

The two Keyblade Masters glared at each other, neither moving an inch.

Suddenly, Xehanort lunged at Eraqus.

Eraqus swung his Keyblade up in defense and the "E" shaped teeth of Eraqus' blade locked with the spikey curved teeth of Xehanort's. Xehanort narrowed his eyes and Eraqus snarled at him.

Eraqus shoved his Keyblade forward, knocking Xehanort a few steps back. He held up Master's Defense, ready to block again. Even with mal-intentions, Xehanort was still his friend.

But Xehanort had a different opinion. Nothing was going to stand in his way of recreating the Keyblade War. Xehanort crouched and lunged at Eraqus once again, sliding his Keyblade this time along the shaft of Eraqus'. One of the curved spikes at the end caught Eraqus' left cheek, leaving a jagged cut.

Blood dripped down his neck as Eraqus leaned in and flipped Xehanort over his shoulder, where he landed on Eraqus' desk. Xehanort jumped upright and jammed his Keyblade down, this time cutting Eraqus vertically down his right eye.

Eraqus shouted in pain as he backed away a few paces, covering his injured eye. Squinting with his left, Eraqus managed to block another of Xehanort's attacks that sent them back closer to the door.

"Don't do this!" Eraqus shouted, "Don't abandoned all that we've worked for!"

Xehanort laughed and yelled back, "My work has only just begun!"

Grabbing his Keyblade, Eraqus swung over his head only to be stuck in another lock with Xehanort. Eraqus' eyes widened when Xehanort grinned evilly. Smokey black tendrils began to rise around them; Xehanort grinned even more wickedly and his yellow eyes burned with malice.

Eraqus shoved backwards, getting out of the lock before charging again. Xehanort side-stepped the attack and deflected the Keyblade. He took a swing towards Eraqus, the black tendrils swirling around him. Eraqus dodge rolled out of the way and knocked Xehanort forward with a heavy swing of his Keyblade.

Xehanort landed on one knee and skidded to the corner of the room by the window. Eraqus placed a hand over his right eye again and lowered his Keyblade.

"Please," he pleaded, "don't do this Xehanort."

Yellow eyes met grey; Xehanort broke contact first when he looked down as he stood up. Without a word, a Corridor of Darkness appeared behind him. Eraqus gasped, so it was true. He staggered forward but it was too late. Squinting through his good eye, Eraqus saw Xehanort walk through the Corridor and it disappeared into nothingness.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Outside, panic rose in Manami as she heard the clash of the Keyblades behind the door.

"Master Eraqus! Master Eraqus, let me in!" Manami shouted. " _Master Eraqus!_ " She continued to struggle against the door. Kicking, punching, ramming into it with her shoulder. Nothing worked and the fight continued without her.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhh—"

Manami froze in place. That was Master Eraqus that had cried out. It sounded like he was injured.

"MASTER ERAQUS!" Manami screamed. Tears were forming at the corner of her eyes. _I can't reach him_ , she thought. _I have to get in- I have to help him!_

Manami could hear a bit of shouting behind the door but couldn't make out what was said. She took a few step back and charged the door. _WHAM!_ It hardly left a dent. Manami could still hear the fight going on inside the office.

 _UGH. If only I had my damn Keyblade!_ she swore in her mind. It wasn't often Manami swore, but she didn't care at the moment.

Suddenly, everything fell silent. Manami stood still and listened closely. She couldn't hear a thing.

 _Oh no._

FIN

 _O_O That was intense, if I do say so myself. This is just speculation on how Eraqus got his scars; we know that its from Xehanort but we don't know the specifics. Have any theories of your own? Comment them below! Until next time ~KB_

* * *

 _I know that we're 9 chapters in and anything Naruto has yet to be mentioned and you're probably thinking "Uhhh, where is it?!"... I am truly sorry for this, I did not plan on it taking this long in the least bit. But I PROMISE that it will happen in the next couple of chapters. Thank you for staying with me this long, I appreciate it *inserts heart icon*_


	10. The Mission

_Ugh... colds suck. I do not recommend. Enjoy the chapter! ~KB_

 _Disclaimer: I don't own KH, it belongs to Nomura. And Naruto is Kishimoto's ;)_

Ch 10: The Mission

Everything had fallen silent in Master Eraqus' office. Manami couldn't hear any signs of a struggle. In fact, she couldn't hear anything.

 _Oh no_ , she thought morbidly.

"MASTER ERAQUS!" she shouted. Giving it one final go, Manami kicked the door with all her might and managed to knock it off its hinges.

Manami ran inside the office and took in the scene. Everything was disoriented: papers strewn everywhere, scratch marks on the floor and walls, even the desk was split in half! Manami saw no sign of Master Xehanort anywhere but Master Eraqus was lying crumpled on the ground, his face hidden.

Rushing to her master's side, Manami knelt down beside him.

"Master?" she asked, her voice laced with worry. Eraqus groaned and looked up, a hand covering his right eye.

"Manami," he said sitting up, "what are you doing here?"

"I heard shouting," she replied, "so I came to see what was wrong. I discovered you and Master Xehanort in the middle of a shouting match and next thing I know, you both are fighting and I'm locked outside!"

Master Eraqus nodded his head slowly. He moved to get up and Manami threw his left arm over her shoulder. As much as she wanted to ask questions, Manami knew now was not the time. Instead, she kept her mouth shut and walked Master Eraqus down to the infirmary.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Later that evening, Manami was called down to the infirmary. She had spent the afternoon walking the hallways to calm her nerves when one of the nurses finally found her. To say Manami was a little riled up was an understatement. Once again, she was useless to help her master when he needed it.

Arriving at her destination in the lower division of the tower, Manami knocked on the door and was let in by one of the nurses. Stepping inside, Manami shut the door behind her and bowed to each of the nurses. Master Eraqus sat on the edge of a cot as the nurses fussed over him.

Manami stood patiently in a corner as she waited for her master to be finished. Once the nurses were satisfied with their work, they each bowed respectively before leaving the room. Manami grabbed a chair and sat in front of Master Eraqus. She noted the stitches along his left cheek and down his right eye. A black patch coved the injured eye as well.

"How are you feeling?" she asked softly.

"I'm fine," he replied gruffly, "just a bit sore."

Manami grimaced at his response. Master Eraqus was _clearly_ not fine.

She leaned forward and placed her elbows on her knees. "Sir, with all due respect, what happened?"

Master Eraqus stared at her for a moment and sighed. "I suppose I can't avoid it. Not to mention with everything that happened at the meeting-"

"What happened at the meeting?" Manami asked.

"I'll get to that in a moment. First, the fight." Eraqus responded. "I asked Xehanort to come to my office so we could discuss the meeting at the Disney Castle. When he arrived I asked how your training went."

Manami visibly stiffened at the mention of her training.

"Xehanort said it went well," he continued, "when I asked how he decided to train you Xehanort's expression darkened immediately. Every time I tried to ask what he did, Xehanort would avoid giving a direct answer. Finally I told him that I knew he was summoning Heartless." Manami saw Eraqus grip the bedsheets and shifted her chair closer.

"Xehanort- he said it was necessary to improve your training. All of a sudden we're in a heated argument over the Darkness and Light and he confesses that he used the Corridor of Darkness to bring them here."

 _I knew it!_ Manami thought. "What happened next?" she urged.

"I told him it was dangerous and shouldn't be used. Xehanort kept rambling on about how the Darkness shouldn't be feared, but controlled."

"That's right about the time I arrived outside, I think." Manami thought aloud.

A small grin appeared in the corner of Master Eraqus' lips. "I thought so."

Manami looked at her master wide eyed. "You knew I was there?!"

"I felt a familiar presence," he replied. "I guessed it was yours. Most people would normally flee when two Keyblade Masters are in the middle of a quarrel."

"Wait a minute," Manami interrupted, "you knew I was outside. Does that mean you shut the door on me?! I could've helped! I could have fought beside you!"

Master Eraqus shook his head, "It was not your fight, it was mine. I didn't want you to get hurt. Not to mention, how would you have fought? Presently, you still can't summon a Keyblade."

Manami felt like Master Eraqus stabbed her in heart. It was one thing that he didn't let her in to fight, it was another that he didn't let her fight because she couldn't summon a Keyblade. Tears formed at the corners of her eyes as she whispered, "I would've thought of something. Even if I can't wield a Keyblade I can still fight!"

Eraqus saw the anger and determination in Manami's eyes.

"You're right," he replied softly, "but that doesn't change a thing. Even if you fought with your hands alone, I didn't want you to get hurt. As you can see, Xehanort is a formidable opponent." Eraqus motioned to the scars forming on his face. "I'd rather bear these scars than see you take the blow for me."

Manami stared at Master Eraqus in disbelief. _He was- he was trying to protect me_.

"Anyways," Eraqus continued, "after I obtained these and sent Xehanort flying across my office, he summoned a Corridor and disappeared. I dismissed my Keyblade and blacked out for a moment. That's when you bust down the door and came to my side. I'm grateful that you were able to help in the end."

"Of course!" Manami answered, "So, what happened at the meeting?"

Master Eraqus gave a hearty laugh. "Eager as ever I see."

Manami blushed lightly as Eraqus continued, "To put it simply, there has been a slight increase in Heartless sightings and-" he paused briefly, "There's a new world."

"A new world!" Manami exclaimed.

"Yeah," Eraqus confirmed, "a new world. This one is called Land of Fire. Not much is known about it except that it's heavily forested and they have elite warriors. In fact, I discussed it with the council and we agreed that you are to do a recon mission to learn more about the Land of Fire."

Manami's jaw hit the floor. _They- they want me to-_

"But what about my Keyblade? Can I still do the mission without it?" she asked.

Master Eraqus pondered this for a moment before replying, "You have a point, but it is just a recon mission. Our sensors didn't detect anything so you should be safe just scouting the area. But keep your guard up just in case."

Manami jumped out of her chair and hugged Master Eraqus. A bit surprised by her sudden actions, Master Eraqus hesitated for a moment before grinning and patted her on the back.

"Thank you so much Master!" she said pulling away. "I promise I won't let you down!"

Master Eraqus chuckled. "I know you won't Manami. You never have." he said, patting her on the shoulder. "You never have."

FIN

 _FINALLY! Manami finally gets to go to the Land of Fire! *does happy dance* Next chapter...  
But she's going, nonetheless. See you next time! ~KunoichiBlade_


	11. Recon Gone Wrong

_*squeals* She's finally here! Idk whose more excited, me or you xD Anyway, I'm sorry if it seemed like it took forever to get here but the plot bunnies had something else in mind for me ^_^ Enjoy the chapter! ~KB_

 _Disclaimer: I don't own KH or Naruto, they belong to Nomura and Kishimoto respectively._

Ch 11: Recon Gone Wrong

Manami shrugged on her blue vest over her red shirt and zipped it up half way. Stepping towards the mirror she brushed her hair and pulled the top half into clipped ponytail. Satisfied with her appearance, Manami checked her bag one last time.

 _…_ _Spare clothes, check; extra Potions and Hi-Potions just to be safe, check; Alright, I think that's everything,_ she thought.

Manami zipped up her bag and swung it over her shoulder, leaving her room. She walked briskly down the halls towards the Launch Pad, excitement and anxiety coursing through her veins. It had been a while since Manami had visited another world due to her training and she was going on a recon mission to a new one!

Walking on to the Launch Pad area in the lower level of the tower, Manami spotted Master Eraqus standing next to the already prepped Gummi Ship. _He must have arrived early to get it up and running for me_ , she thought.

Eraqus beamed at Manami as she walked up to him.

"You ready?" he asked, clapping a hand on her shoulder.

"I think so." she replied.

"Good," Eraqus said handing Manami the keys. "Now, be gentle with her. She has a small tendency to jerk a bit due to the transmission fluid, but you should be fine."

Manami stared at the keys for a moment. "I think I can handle that. Not much different than being hit midair!"

Eraqus sighed at the reference to Manami's first attempt at flying the Gummi Ship. Debris often drifted through the areas they flew to reach other worlds and Manami had hit almost every piece during her first flight lesson.

"I was afraid you would say that," Eraqus said shaking his head, "That's why I got you this."

Reaching inside his pocket, Master Eraqus pulled out a red beaded charm. A see-though red octagon was under the clasp, followed by a murky red sphere, and ending with a few red beaded tassels. Manami's eyes widened at her gift. _It's beautiful_ , she thought.

Master Eraqus clasped the charm to a hole on Manami's vest. The hole was there when Manami bought the vest but could never figure out what it was used for. But now the charm hung there as if the hole was designed for just that purpose. Plus, it matched perfectly with her shirt and made a nice accent against the blue vest.

"Thank you sir," Manami whispered, fingering one of the beaded tassels. She looked up at her master and beamed.

"I'm glad you like it," he replied. "It's a reminder. Although you may not presently wield a Keyblade, that does not mean your training has stopped."

Manami's smile faltered at the mention of her Keyblade and nodded in acknowledgement.

"I won't let you down sir. I'll be back before you know it!" she said boarding the Gummi Ship.

"Good," Master Eraqus called to Manami. "Now remember, not a scratch!"

Manami held up her hand in mock salute in response. She hopped in the cockpit and closed the hatch. Adjusting the thrusters, Manami steadied the ship as it rose and pulled out of the Launch Pad.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

The ride to Land of Fire was overall uneventful. Manami only had to dodge a few bits of flying debris and the Gummi Ship had only jerked a couple of times.

 _…_ _Alright,_ she thought, _heavily forested, so gotta be careful where I land; elite warriors, best I don't get into trouble._

When Manami saw Land of Fire she slowed her speed and drifted over the trees, looking for a clear enough space to land. _Man, they weren't kidding! It's a sea of green up here._

All of a sudden, the Gummi Ship began to shake in Manami's hands.

"Oh no," she thought aloud. "No no no no no! Don't do this to me now!"

Manami was too close to the trees below her and if the ship jerked, she was sure to crash.

As luck would have it, Manami finally caught a glimpse of a gap in the trees. The Gummi Ship trembled as she veered towards it and just as Manami was about to take her down, the Gummi Ship jerked downwards into the gap. Manami tried to pull up on the steering wheel as the ship fell below the tree line and crashed onto a weave of branches.

Smoke poured from the engine where the ship crashed into the branches. Jumping onto a large limb, Manami surveyed the damage. The left wing was bent in like a bird's wing but the engine took the brunt of the damage when it hit the trunk of a large tree. _So much for "not a scratch"_ she thought solemnly, _I am soooooooooo dead. Master Eraqus is going to kill me for sure this time! I don't know if I can find enough Gummi Blocks to repair it._ Looking around, Manami saw that most of the trees were huge with wide branches extending so far out that someone could jump from one to another.

Manami hopped back in the cockpit and searched through the numerous buttons and knobs. _I could have sworn there was a cloaking device or something around here- Ah! Here it is,_ she thought. Pressing a small yellow button, Manami watched the colors of the Gummi Ship spaz from red to blue to indigo and finally to a green. _Well, it doesn't match the leaves but it's better than the red._

Manami grabbed her pack and jumped back on a branch. That's when it really hit her. The Gummi Ship was damaged to where it couldn't fly, she didn't have any parts to fix it, she couldn't leave this place until it was fixed, she had no money, she didn't even know if there was a town nearby, and there was no way to contact Master Eraqus. Manami was stuck there. By herself. In the middle of an unknown world.

 _Ok, it's ok, there's no need to freak out_ , she thought.

Suppressing the initial panic, Manami calmed her mind and processed the situation.

 _Ok. I'm stuck here. I have no food or water, I have no money. I'm in the middle of a forest of giant trees with no sign of civilization. Uugghhh, I'm so screwed!_ she concluded.

 _No, no. That's not the way to think right now,_ she mentally countered.

Manami fingered her new charm. _That's right. It's not over yet. The least I can do is complete the mission, then I can work on fixing the Gummi Ship. Now, how do I get down from here?_

Looking down, Manami saw branches everywhere. She hopped from one branch to the next till she was finally low enough to jump to the ground. Not knowing where to go from there, Manami followed the direction of the sun and hoped for the best.

Eventually, Manami came across a large pathway. She knelt down and saw it was a well-traveled road; carriage tracks, horse-hooves, and footprints a leveled the ground so the dirt showed more than the grass. Manami followed the path but something made her feel uneasy.

As she continued her journey, the feeling of unease grew. Manami held her bag close and glanced around. _Something doesn't feel right_ , she thought.

Stepping off the path, Manami hid behind the trees but keep the road in her line of sight.

Suddenly, a man dropped in front of her, holding what looked like a kite shaped dagger. A dark bandana was tied over his brown hair and a long silver pick was held between his lips. Manami crouched into a defensive position, mirroring the man in front of her. He wore a forest green jacket over a turtleneck and navy pants that appeared to be some sort of uniform.

"State your name and purpose," the man demanded, holding up his weapon.

"Who's asking?" Manami rebuttled.

The silver pick in his mouth twitched as he smirked and Manami noted the weapons holster strapped to his right leg.

"Hahaha, I like your spunk, but I'm afraid I still need you to answer the question. Who are you?"

Manami started at her opponent and replied, "Fine, I'll tell you, if you can catch me."

Then she ran for it.

FIN

 _Uh-oh, just stepped foot in a new world and Manami's already in trouble. What do you think's gonna happen?  
Until next time my friends. ~KunoichiBlade_


	12. Welcome to Konohagakure

_Hello everyone! Hope you are having a wonderful summer (or winter) where ever you are. Time to see what happens next in Manami's adventure. Enjoy! ~KB_

 _Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto..._

Ch 12: Welcome to Konohagakure

Manami ran for her life. Normally, running in a foreign world with no sense of direction and taunting someone (an elite warrior?) with a weapon into chasing you would be considered the dumbest thing to do. And Manami wholeheartedly agreed. But she had done it anyway and proceeded to run. Why she did it, Manami could never figure out.

Manami jumped over branches and weaved in and out of trees. She could feel the man behind her, following her every move. Though she didn't know the terrain, Manami didn't know if the man did or didn't either. He could have been some sort of burglar for all she knew! Her safest bet was following the trail and getting to the nearest town.

As Manami ran, she felt a second presence. Chancing it, she glanced back while on a branch and saw two people now in pursuit of her. _Oh great_ , she thought, _he has a buddy_.

In her hesitance, a figure appeared popped up in front of Manami and grabbed hold of her. It was that man. Manami twisted and wiggled but couldn't get out of his grip. She jerked sideways, sending both of them to the forest floor, landing with a puff. Free of the man's grip from the fall, Manami rolled to the side then stood up to see no one there.

 _Where did you go?_ she thought. Manami scanned the area she landed in and saw the two figures closing in on her. Before she could take off again, they reached her and the two men got on opposite sides of her. Manami whipped her head from one man to the other, they were the exact same.

Now, Manami had seen twins before, but this was just uncanny. _Same bandanna, same silver pick, even the same shade of hair!_

Manami crouched into a defensive position and kept her eyes on the two men.

"So," started one, "are you ready to tell me who you are?"

"Or," continued the other, "are you going to try and run again?"

Manami's eyes flickered between the men, determining what to do next.

"I think I might try something a little different this time," she responded. The men's eyes narrowed and Manami lunged at the nearest one. He dodged her fist and attempted to hit her with the butt of his dagger but she caught his wrist and flipped him over her shoulder. As the man landed, he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"What the- what on earth?!" Manami exclaimed in surprise. "Where'd he go?!"

The remaining man looked at her questioningly. "Uh, you defeated a clone. He didn't 'go' anywhere."

Manami stared at the man for a moment before deciding it was time to run again. Now that there was only one person, she had a better chance of getting away.

"Hey! Catch!" yelled Manami as she threw her bag at him.

As soon as the bag left Manami's hands, she bolted. The man redirected the bag away from himself for fear of an explosive in it, back into Manami's arms. The toss was just enough of a delay for her to get a decent head start.

Manami continued to run, keeping the road in sight. Finally, she caught a glimpse of a tall wooden fence ahead. Increasing her speed, Manami didn't bother to check behind her this time. She didn't want a repeat of what happened earlier.

Manami ran until she came to a large green gateway in the fence. It had red symbols painted on each door and a stone banner above it. Manami didn't have time to admire it as she rushed through the entryway. She saw two guards in a booth off to the side.

"Hey, excuse me!" she called out to them. The two men looked up from their post; they wore similar vests to the man following her but at least they had different faces this time.

Running up to them, Manami exclaimed, "There's a man following me. I have no idea who he is or what he wants but I'm unarmed and he has some sort of a dagger."

The man with spikey black hair and a white strip of cloth over his nose looked at his partner, the one that had brown hair covering half his face and a bandana on. They both looked back at Manami and the one with the white cloth ask "Can you describe what this man looks like?"

Manami was about to answer when the first man she encountered rushed through the gates. "It's that guy, right there!" she shouted, pointing to the man.

The guy with hair covering his face narrowed his visible eye and called out, "Hey, Genma-san! What're you doin' chasin' after pretty women again? Haven't you learned your lesson?"

Manami visibly stiffened. The guards knew the man that was chasing her and they had used some sort of honorific with his name. She had heard something similar once before in The Land of Dragons.

The man with the silver pick, Genma, walked over to the trio and stated, "I wasn't chasing her, Izumo! Well, I was, but not for what you think. I caught her near the site where the smoke was spotted. I went to inquire her and she ran off!"

"Aww, come on Genma-san," this time it was the one with the white cloth over his nose that spoke, "since when do you let someone get away?"

"Hey, this chick is quicker than you would think. Anyway, who are you?" he said, addressing Manami.

Manami glanced between the three men. They all had identical outfits, suggesting it was a uniform of some sort. The one that chased her had a weapon, which meant that these people were possibly the elite warriors she was warned of.

"My name is-" she paused. Was it safe to tell them her name? Could she really trust these people?

 _But do I have a choice?_ she thought. _My only mode of transportation is out of commission and I have nowhere to stay. Let's see how little I can get by with-_

"Manami," she finally replied. "I'm afraid I'm in a bit of a predicament. Is there someone I can talk to for help? And possibly tell me where I am?"

The two men with bandanas eyed her warily but the man with the white cloth laughed and said, "Why, you're in Konohagakure!"

"Konoha-what-ay?"

"Ko-no-ha-ga-ku-re." he repeated for her.

"As for someone to help," he continued, addressing Genma, "Why don't you take Manami-san up to Tsunade-sama for us?"

Sama. That was an honorific for extremely high positions, like kings or emperors. Manami began to feel uneasy at the thought of being brought straight to the top and it was Genma that was taking her to the top. Who knows what he would say to them?!

Genma nodded his head in agreement. "I was going to do that anyway when I first met her. Follow me Manami-san."

"Uh, do you really need to take me to someone so high up?" she asked nervously. "I just need some directions and possibly some supplies-"

"I'm sure Tsunade-sama will be able to answer all your questions," Genma replied, a hint of impatience in his voice. "Now just come with me."

Manami took a step back, "I don't really think that's necessary-"

"It doesn't matter what you think," Genma spat back, "you're coming with me."

To emphasize his point, Genma grabbed Manami by the wrist and pulled her towards the center of the village. Without much of a choice, Manami trudged behind Genma eyeing the roads for possible escape routes.

FIN

 _Nothing like getting into trouble as soon as you walk into a new place. But I suppose it would be pointless otherwise. See ya soon! ~KunoichiBlade_


	13. Undercover

_Ugh... been working on a cosplay project and it is currently kicking my butt! Maybe I'll get motivated if I try it on xD ~KB_

 _Disclaimer: Kishimoto owns Naruto, not me..._

Ch 13: Undercover

Manami followed Genma in silence as he led her through the village. Her head kept bouncing back and forth as she tried to take in the sights around her. The village was huge! Buildings everywhere of various sizes and colors, shops lining the streets, and at the far end of the village was a tall mountainside with five heads carved in at the top. She was sure to get lost if she tried to leave. As the two continued to walk, Genma kept a careful eye on the newcomer. She appeared as innocent as an Academy student, but she could easily be an enemy.

Approaching the base of the mountain, Manami saw that they were headed for a huge complex of buildings. Off to the left side, Manami could see children playing in a fenced in courtyard. _Must be some type of school_ , she thought. Genma steered Manami to the right a bit and brought her inside a building attached to the school.

After walking through a labyrinth of hallways, Genma finally stopped in front of a set of large double doors. Manami's nerves were shot by this point. Since they entered the building, she gradually became more and more nervous. When they stopped, Genma turned around to face Manami and she almost jumped out of her skin.

"Here's the deal," he started, "you're about to meet Lady Tsunade, our Fifth Hokage. She is the leader of Konoha so she deserves the utmost respect. Got it?"

"Got it," Manami squeaked out. Her knees were practically shaking as Genma knocked on the door.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT?" shouted a voice behind the doors.

Manami took a step back from the anger emanating from the voice while Genma remained un-phased.

"I have an unidentified newcomer," he called through the doors. "Permission to enter."

Manami heard grumbling and ruffling of papers. A moment later a door was opened by woman with short black hair.

"Welcome," she said politely, "Tsunade-sama will see you now."

"Thanks Shizune," replied Genma. He looked at Manami and cocked his head towards the door. Manami followed, gathering all the courage she could muster.

Shizune closed the door behind them and walked across the room to a large desk overflowing with papers and scrolls. Genma bowed to the woman behind the desk, a blonde with hair tied in two loose pig-tails and a purple gem on her forehead. Manami's eyes met stern amber eyes and she bowed deeply as well.

Tsunade eyed Manami up and down for a moment asking, "Who is this?"

Genma straightened and replied, "Her name is Manami. She claims to be in a predicament. I saw her not far from the site where the smoke was and went to meet her but she ran. Izumo and Kotetsu met her at the gate where I caught up. Manami didn't even know this was Konoha."

Tsunade listened with eyebrows furrowed. Her eyes flickered between Genma and Manami as Genma spoke. Manami remained silent, for fear of the wrath she glimpsed earlier.

When Genma finished, Tsunade took a deep breath and said, "Interesting. Tell me, Manami, you're predicament wouldn't have anything to do with the smoke appearance, would it?"

Manami's heart thumped so hard in her chest, she was sure the others could hear it. Keybearers were forbidden from directly meddling with the affairs of a world. It disrupted the natural order of things and caused confusion and chaos. Keybearers were told to avoid meddling with worlds and to create covers for their appearance. And yet here she was in the middle of the village leader's office being inquired about the smoke from her crash landing.

"I don't know anything about that, ma'am." she lied. It felt like an arrow shot through her chest, but Manami had to keep her true identity hidden.

"I am merely a traveler," she concluded. She felt a little better admitting some truth and it calmed some of her nerves.

Tsunade's eyes narrowed at the vague response. "Where were you coming from?"

Manami froze. _Crap_ , she thought. _Didn't think of that_.

Manami kept her breathing steady and heartbeat down, basic tell-tale signs if someone was lying.

"I come from no place in particular," she answered coolly, "I explore many different places near and far, simply following one path to another. That's how I ended up here."

"Then how do you explain running from one of our ninja?" asked Tsunade in a warning tone.

"He dropped in front of me and demanded to know who I was." Manami replied easily. "I had no idea who he was or anything and got spooked." _At least that much is true._

Genma looked at her like she grew a second head and Tsunade smirked.

"Genma, take her to see Ibiki. I've got paperwork to deal with." She looked at Manami, "We'll see how much of what you say is true."

Genma bowed and left the room, Manami mimicking his actions.

Walking through another labyrinth of hallways Manami asked nervously, "What did Tsunade-sama mean at the end when we left?"

Genma looked back at her and smirked, "If what you say holds true, you can stay in the village. If not, we have to break you and find out what your true intentions are."

Manami gulped at the thought of being tortured for information.

"So, who is this Ibiki person?" she asked.

Genma's silver pick twitched. "Ibiki-san is in charge of interrogation. He's a mastermind of getting information out of people, but sometimes it takes a little while for people to crack."

Manami's nerves returned with every step as she followed in silence.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Down in the interrogation office, Manami was placed in a room with two chairs and a table. She sat in the chair furthest from the door and waited patiently for something to happen. There were no clocks, no windows, no way of telling how much time was passing her by. Everything was grey too. _Awfully dull_ , she thought.

Manami felt relatively calm for her situation. There was no point in freaking out, it would just get her into more trouble. The calmer she remained, the clearer she could think. Not to mention her nerves were shot by this point.

The handle to the door jiggled and a large man in a black trench coat entered the room. When he sat down, Manami saw two scars streaked across his face. A bandana covered his head with a silver plate attached. His presence alone set Manami on edge.

Tension filled the room as the two stared at each other. The man set a file folder on the table and leaned on the table. Manami shifted in her chair and crossed her arms. _This guy can't be any good_ , she thought morbidly.

The large man grinned as if reading her thoughts.

"Let's begin," he said in a deep voice.

FIN

 _That was fun, hope you all enjoyed!  
Just a heads up, I won't be able to post for at least a week :( I'm sorry... Until next time then! ~KunoichiBlade_


	14. Questioning

_Sorry for the wait, but it gives you time to read other fanfics ;) Hahaha anyway, I hope you guys are enjoying the story so far! ~KB_

 _Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto... it belongs to Kishimoto-san._

Ch 14: Questioning

Manami sat quietly in her chair, maintaining a calm composure. On the inside though, she was far from calm. _Holy crap that guy is terrifying_ , she thought. _He could probably tear my limbs off without breaking a sweat! Did he even flinch when he got those scars?_

The bulky man just watched Manami, enjoying her inner turmoil. He could see right through her façade and intended to dissect every piece of information from this girl.

"So," he began gruffly, interrupting Manami from her thoughts, "What's your name?"

Manami raised an eyebrow at the question. _What kind of a question is that?! I thought he was supposed to get inside my head._

"Will I get a name in response?" she asked.

The man frowned slightly as he pondered her question. "I don't see why not," he replied with a wave of his hand, "I heard about your little run in with Genma-san."

Manami tensed in her seat; this was not a good way to start the interrogation.

"What did you hear?" she asked cautiously.

"First, your name," the man said sharply, "then I will tell you my name. But to tell you what I know about your chase I will need something just as valuable in return. Your fingers should do nicely."

Manami mentally snarled at the man. _Oh, he's good. I need to stay one step ahead of this guy._

"Alright," she said straightening in her chair, "my name is Manami."

"Manami? Nothing else?" the man inquired, a growl in his voice.

"Perhaps," Manami replied coolly, "but I believe it's your turn."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

The man smirked at Manami's display of boldness. _Getting information from her is going to be a walk in the park_ , he thought.

"My name is Morino Ibiki," he said.

"Nice to have a proper introduction," she replied, "depending on what you know, you'll know I have a hard time with them around this place."

Ibiki let out a deep chuckle, "I suppose you could say that. But why don't you tell me something about yourself first?" He shot her a dark smile, "Make it good; that right hand of yours would make a fine addition to my collection."

Manami held her hands close in her lap. "You don't have the slightest clue who I am."

"Oh really?" Ibiki said as he leaned back in his chair, quirking an eyebrow, "And what makes you say that Manami-san?"

Manami shrugged it off. "No reason, I guess."

There was a pause in the conversation; Ibiki kept a straight face but frowned on the inside. _She's trying to derail the conversation_ , he thought crossly. _Not on my watch._

"Why don't you tell me your side of the story? Or would it help if I tore off your fingernails?" Ibiki asked with a wicked grin.

Manami stiffened in her chair and Ibiki grinned at her discomfort.

"If I knew what you were told it would be a great help in explaining things." Manami retorted back.

"And I said I needed something just as valuable in return," Ibiki argued. "So what hand do you want nail-less first? Left or right?"

Manami held her hands up in defense, "Alright, alright. I get it. My full name is Manami Kiyomizu and I am a-" she paused briefly, as if to stop herself from saying something important. "I'm a Blade Apprentice. Now, it's your turn."

"A Blade Apprentice?" he inquired. _What the heck does that mean?_

"It means I've been studying to wield a blade." Manami responded.

Ibiki mentally grimaced at the new information. It wasn't what he was looking for but it was still something. _Who's to say that's her real name anyway?_ he thought. Ibiki leaned forward on the table and flipped through the folder he brought in.

"I was told that one of our shinobi spotted you near the suspicious smoke appearance and went to confront you. Upon appearance you first taunted then ran from him. He says you put up a bit of a fight too," Ibiki paused briefly and smirked. "Then you arrived at the gates of Konoha and told the guards someone was chasing you. To me, that just doesn't make much sense."

"Why do you say that?" Manami asked, unease creeping in her voice.

"Didn't you notice the similar uniform they wore?" Ibiki questioned with an evil grin. "Why would you ask help from someone who wore the same thing as your pursuer?"

Manami was backed into a corner. He could see it in her eyes as she frantically searched for an answer.

"I'm not too sure," she finally confessed. Ibiki eyed her suspiciously; he sensed it was an honest answer but in reality it didn't make sense for her to run. She hadn't even attempted to lie. _What is she playing at?_ he thought.

"I admit I saw the uniform," Manami continued, "but he had a weapon and I was defenseless. Basic fight or flight."

Ibiki frowned. "Would throwing your pack at Genma-san really count as defenselessness?" he taunted.

A light red brushed Manami's cheeks as she blushed. "So you know about that" she muttered.

Ibiki laughed at her embarrassment. "Well?" he pushed.

"I had to think of something to get away again," she admitted, "I guessed that he wouldn't actually catch the bag but redirect it and I was right."

Ibiki's eyes narrowed. Manami was smarter than he first thought if she could think of something like that while being chased.

"As for why I talked to the guards," Manami continued, "I had already asked for their help before I even noticed what they were wearing. At that point I was solely focused on getting away from the person with the weapon."

Ibiki analyzed Manami as she talked. Everything she said was true but something about her was off. _She's still hiding something_ , Ibiki thought. He didn't trust her, but she didn't appear to be a threat. If she was an enemy ninja, she was a horrible one.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Manami sat in silence under Ibiki's scrutiny. She had no idea why she was being so honest but it felt like the right thing to do. She didn't have a fight with these people and needed a place to stay while she figured things out about the Gummi Ship. So long as she kept her secret as a Keybearer, Manami saw no reason to lie.

"So," Ibiki continued, "where is it you are coming from?"

Manami held his stern gaze as she thought of an answer. She couldn't tell him she came from the Land of Departure that would just lead to more questions.

"I'm a traveler," Manami said, "There's no one particular place I come from."

Manami knew that Ibiki could tell she was hiding something. Her answer was only partly true, but the rest wasn't entirely false.

"If that's the case," he pushed, "what do you know about the smoke we saw?"

"Nothing," Manami replied instantly. She had to avoid being tied to anything suspicious, but if they didn't know the smoke was from her ship then she still had a chance of leaving.

Ibiki grinned wickedly at Manami and she shrunk in her chair.

"You're lying," he said blatantly.

 _So he can tell if I'm lying_ , Manami thought. _Looks like I have to stick with half-true answers_.

"Ok, fine," she said, "I saw the smoke. But that's it."

"Still lying," Ibiki said growing impatient. "Tell me what you know about the smoke or I may have to," he paused and grinned evilly, "use other means of extraction. Maybe we should clear that head of yours with some waterboarding. Or perhaps you would like a necklace made of rope?"

Manami gulped. He couldn't know about the Gummi Ship but she couldn't think of a way out of his question. _What am I going to do?_ she thought morbidly.

FIN

 _Ah yes, throwing characters into situations like this is always interesting. Let me know what you guys think! Any suggestions for future events or what you would like to see are more than welcome. Until next time! ~KunoichiBlade_


	15. The Truth

_Sorry I'm so late everyone! Got sidetracked with school and whatnot... and then FFN wouldn't let me upload. Anyway, please enjoy! ~KB_

 _Disclaimer: Kishimoto owns all rights to Naruto_

Ch 15: The Truth

Manami was tense from head to toe. She knew she couldn't lie, but she also had to keep the Keybearer's secret. Ibiki just sat in front of her, enjoying Manami's inner turmoil.

"Well?" Ibiki urged.

Manami held her breath. "Alright. I saw the smoke."

Ibiki just stared at her, eyes narrowed, without comment.

"And-" she continued, hanging her head, "and I'm the cause of it."

"Now we're getting somewhere," Ibiki declared. "Care to share how you caused it?"

Manami shook her head as she stared at her lap. _He can't know-_

* _Wham!_ *

Manami's head jerked up to see Ibiki's fist had slammed down on the table, a mean snarl was etched on his scarred face.

"How did you make the smoke appear?!" he growled angrily.

"It was an accident!" Manami exclaimed. "I never meant for it to happen!"

"For what to happen?" Ibiki followed up.

Manami's eyes widened. She had slipped up just enough for an opening. Manami looked at the large man and drew her lips in a thin line.

Ibiki stood up abruptly and walked over to Manami, standing directly behind her. Manami straightened in her seat but held her ground.

"Shall I get the water? Tell me what happened." Ibiki said in a low tone.

"I can't say." Manami replied pointedly.

"And why is that?" Ibiki asked leaning in.

"Because it would lead to other questions I cannot answer." Manami kept her gaze in front of her refusing to be intimidated.

Ibiki walked back to the other side of the table and leaned forward to look directly at Manami.

"Why can't you tell me?" he pushed. "Is there a jutsu on you that prevents you from speaking? Or are you just stubborn?"

Manami held Ibiki's gaze, "I would tell you if I could, but for the protection of this world it is better for you to not know!"

Ibiki's eyebrows furrowed at her answer. "For the protection of this world? So suddenly you're our 'protector' now?"

Manami rubbed a hand over her face, "It's not that simple."

Ibiki slammed his fist on the table again. "Then make it simple! You can't just appear out of nowhere, know about a strange smoke sighting, and then withhold information from us!"

"Fine!" Manami shouted. The corner of her eyes were damp; she couldn't back out of this one. It wasn't worth getting into a fight over either. If she couldn't keep it a secret, the least Manami could do was control who knew it in this world.

"I'll tell you everything," Manami said with a steady voice, "but here's the deal: I speak to you and the village leader alone. You two are the only ones I will speak to and everything will be kept off the records. Deal?"

Ibiki frowned and crossed his arms. Manami finally yielded, but not without stipulation.

"That rope would look really good on your neck right about now." he threatened.

Manami held Ibiki's stern gaze, refusing to back down.

"If you don't agree," she said in a low tone, "then I will rot away in a cell, never breathing another word."

Ibiki eyed her suspiciously.

"You drive a hard bargain," he finally replied, "but I can accept those terms. You are no threat to us."

Manami leaned back in her chair, releasing the breath she held as Ibiki left the room.

 _This is it_ , she thought.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Manami stood as the door opened up. It felt like forever since Ibiki had left, but he finally returned with the lady Manami met earlier. Tsunade sat in the chair across from Manami and Ibiki stood in a corner. Manami sat down as well and took a deep breath to calm her nerves.

"So," Tsunade bluntly began, "Ibiki tells me you won't speak unless it's just us. Here we are. Now talk."

Manami nodded. _This woman is almost as terrifying as Ibiki_ , she thought

"It's my ship," Manami began slowly, "When I came here, I crashed into the trees trying to land and damaged a wing plus the engine, which caused the smoke to pour out of it."

"A ship?" Tsunade inquired. The only ships she knew of were on water.

"Yes," continued Manami, "it's one of a few ships used for travel."

Tsunade furrowed her eyebrows but it was Ibiki who asked, "Where are you traveling from?"

Manami's voice caught in her throat for a moment. "Please understand that I can't say where, technically I'm not supposed to say anything about what I do."

"Stop wasting our time!" Ibiki shouted angrily, taking a step from the corner. "Tell us who you are and what you do! Or shall I cut off your fingers, one by one?!"

Manami shrank as far back in her chair as possible. Tsunade merely held up her hand without a flinch, signaling Ibiki to back off.

"So why are you telling us?" Tsunade asked calmly.

"I don't want to start any fights or anything of the sort. We're not supposed to meddle in world affairs, but I figured that if I do have to explain myself, I should try to limit the number of people that know. That's why I asked for just you two. You, ma'am, because you are the head of the village and him," she said, nodding her head to Ibiki, "to verify that I am telling the truth to you."

Tsunade nodded in acknowledgement.

"I respect your decision," Tsunade said, "so what can you tell us?"

Manami saw Ibiki glaring at her from the corner he stood in. She took a deep breath and answered, "I am a Keyblade wielder. We are protectors of the worlds and fight the Darkness."

"What's a Keyblade?" Ibiki asked crossly.

Manami thought about it for a moment then replied, "Basically, it's like a sword but in the shape of a giant key."

"Can you show us?" Tsunade asked curiously.

Manami bit her lip, "I'm afraid I can't."

Ibiki growled menacingly, "Well why not?!"

"Because I can't summon it!" Manami replied; her expression grew dark. "Before I came here, something happened and I lost the ability to summon my Keyblade."

"So you can't summon your weapon, and yet you still came here?" Tsunade inquired.

Manami nodded solemnly, "It was supposed to be a simple recon mission. Get in, get out."

Ibiki visibly stiffened in the corner and Tsunade's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "What do you mean recon mission?" Ibiki asked roughly.

"Uh- I mean," Manami swallowed thickly, "when a world first appears, like this one did, we do a simple recon mission to get a lay of the land and to make sure it's clear of any Heartless."

Tsunade gave Manami a quizzical look and Ibiki piped up, "Elaborate on 'when a world first appears'."

Manami's face hardened. "I can't say much but there are other worlds besides this one. Occasionally a new one will appear and it is our job to protect them."

"Protect it from what?" Tsunade asked, concern in her voice.

"From the Darkness and its creatures," Manami replied earnestly.

Ibiki took a half step forward and asked, "What is this 'Darkness' you keep referring to?"

The hairs on Manami's neck prickled in discomfort. "It's hard to describe, but sometimes the darkness in people's hearts become so great it takes a form of its own. That's how Heartless are formed."

"What are Heartless?" questioned Tsunade. "How much of a threat are they?"

"Heartless are manifestations of the Darkness that come in different forms," Manami replied. "If you see them, they are usually noted by their black bodies and yellow eyes. Their only goal is to gather more hearts and create more Heartless."

Manami stopped there. They didn't know about the Keyhole or the heart of the world and it was better that way. _Huh_ , Manami thought, _ignorance really is bliss_.

"So how does all of this relate back to you?" Tsunade asked.

Manami's eyes drooped, "I was- am a Keyblade wielder. Only Keybearers can truly get rid of Heartless because the Keyblade is a weapon of Light. Any other weapon will just temporarily dissolve them, but they always come back."

"I thought you said you can't wield a Keyblade," Ibiki snapped.

Manami hung her head. "I am still a Keyblade apprentice. My master said he would help me find a way to summon it again. But that won't happen unless I get back."

"And you can't get back," Tsunade continued, "because your ship is damaged."

"Exactly," Manami replied, leaning back in her chair.

Tsunade looked back towards Ibiki. He nodded his head stiffly, confirming that everything Manami said was true.

Tsunade turned back towards Manami, "Now I see why you were asked to keep this all a secret. Is there anything we can do to help?"

Manami shook her head. "Not unless you have a Gummi Block or two lying around."

"A Gummi Block?" Ibiki inquired.

Manami searched for the best way to explain them. "They're like large blocks made of a jelly, or gummi-like substance. I don't know the specific mechanics of it, but that's what the ship is made of and how it works."

Tsunade shook her head, "I'm afraid we don't have anything of the sort. Is there anything else we can do to help?"

Manami sat there for a moment and thought through everything. Without repairing the Gummi Ship, she was stuck in the village.

"Is there a place I could stay for a while?" Manami asked.

FIN


	16. Cover Story

_Hello everyone! Here is the updated Ch16, hope you all enjoy! ~KB_

Ch 16: Cover Story

Manami completed the paperwork she was given and handed the packet to Tsunade.

"Finished filling out the personal profile. Thank you for allowing me to stay here," Manami said, "I really don't know what I'd do if you had kicked me out."

Tsunade simply nodded her head. "You're in quite a predicament," she said, leaning on her desk. "Here's the deal though: if you're going to stay in Konoha while you search for a way to repair your ship, you'll have to earn some sort of living for yourself. Are there any crafts or skills you have to work a job?"

Manami creased her eyebrows in thought and grimaced.

"Uh, I know how to repair clothes," she replied weakly, "and I can cook a little bit. Other than that, I can't think of anything. I've been so busy concentrating on my training, I guess I never really focused on anything else."

Tsunade asked, "Training, as a Keyblade Apprentice right?"

"Yeah," Manami nodded in response, "but I still can't summon the Keyblade."

"Do you think you could handle other weapons?" Tsunade inquired curiously.

Manami shrugged, "I don't see why not. I would probably handle some sort of a sword best."

Tsunade leaned back in her chair, furrowing her eyebrows as she thought hard.

"Would you be willing to fight for the village?" she asked bluntly.

Manami straightened in her chair. "What do you mean?"

"What I mean," Tsunade continued, "is if you fight well enough, you could go on missions with some of our shinobi."

"What kind of missions?" Manami asked warily.

Tsunade stood up and walked to the window, staring out to the village. "The shinobi take on various missions depending on how they are ranked. Lower level ninja do small jobs around the village and occasional escort jobs." She turned to face Manami, "Higher level ninja are asked to do more difficult jobs, such as retrieval or escorts for more important official. Amongst other things."

Manami considered the proposal. "Sure," she replied, "I can do stuff like that. But what level would I be."

"I don't know," Tsunade grinned, "we would have to test you to see where you would rank."

"Test me? How would you do that?" Manami inquired.

"You will fight a few of our shinobi to see where your skill level is." Tsunade responded. "So, what do you say?"

Manami thought about it for a minute. _I don't see why not. I can't do much else anyway except fight. And if it will help pay for a place to stay, I don't have much of a choice._

"Alright," she replied, "I'll do it."

"Good," Tsunade said with a large grin. She turned to her assistant, "Shizune, I need you to bring in Mitarashi-san."

"Yes, ma-lady." Shizune said with bow. The woman in the blue-black kimono exited the room, followed by a little pig.

"Manami-san," Tsunade started, getting Manami's attention, "you don't want anyone else to know why you're here or where you came from, right?"

"Yes ma'am," Manami replied, "the fewer to know who I really am, the better."

Tsunade grimaced, "If that's the case, you need a cover story for your sudden appearance in the village."

"Ok," Manami said, "what do you have in mind?"

A knock on the door interrupted the conversation and Shizune entered the room followed by a woman in a large tan trench coat. Manami caught a glimpse of mesh netting underneath and an orange skirt.

"Here's Mitarashi-san, as you requested Tsunade-sama," Shizune announced.

"Thanks," Tsunade said, turning her attention to the new comer. "Anko-san, I need a favor from you."

Anko looked at Tsunade and popped a sucker out of her mouth, "Oh yeah? What cha' ya need, Tsunade-sama?"

Manami eyed Anko warily; her purple hair was tied up in the back so it flared out in spikes and her demeanor showed she was confident, almost cocky.

Tsunade gestured to Manami, "Can Manami-san stay with you for a few nights? Her village was destroyed and she's sought shelter here in Konoha."

"Why should I have to watch over her?" Anko asked sharply.

"I want someone high ranking to watch over her," Tsunade replied. "Ibiki's already had his go with her but I still want someone to keep an eye on her."

Anko rolled her eyes. "That doesn't explain why is has to be me." She directed her attention to Manami and asked, "So what happened to ya?"

Manami had caught on to Tsunade's story and was about to follow up but her voice caught in her throat. Her inner conscious cringed at the thought of lying to someone she just met.

"I- uhh, I- you see-" Manami stammered.

Tsunade sighed and took over, "As you can see, she's having a hard time after such a traumatic experience. After leaving her village, Manami-san looked for shelter and found her way here."

"Oh!" exclaimed Anko, "Is this that chick Genma brought in?"

Tsunade nodded, "Manami-san was still in shock from what happened and was spooked when Genma suddenly appeared in front of her. So will you watch over her?"

"Makes sense." Anko said, shoving the sucker into a cheek. "I can do it. Don't worry Manami-chan, you'll be safe here."

Manami looked up to meet light brown eyes. The large grin on Anko's face caused Manami to smile herself.

"Thank you," she said.

"Alright you two," Tsunade said, getting their attention, "the arrangement is only for a few days until we get Manami settled into some sort of living quarter. Anko, I want you to make sure Manami is well fed and gets a good night's sleep. I want her here first thing tomorrow morning."

Anko gave her a quizzical look and asked, "What for?"

Tsunade shot her a knowing smirk that made Manami tense. "She will be tested to see where she ranks amongst our shinobi."

Anko's eyes widened with glee. "I wanna watch! Its sounds like fun!"

"I'm afraid it's a closed event," Tsunade replied, sitting in her chair,

"Aaawwwww, but I wanna watch her-"

"No." Tsunade interrupted firmly. "Only a select few will sit in and you aren't one of them. So don't go around blabbing about it, got it?"

Anko waved her hand nonchalantly. "Yeah, yeah, I get it. Don't wanna cause a mess with the newbie. I'll take good care of her!"

Tsunade shot Shizune a worried glance and sighed. "Like I said, take care of her. Now get out of here; I have paperwork to finish."

Manami stood up abruptly and bowed with Anko. They left the room and Tsunade sank low into her chair.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Tsunade flipped through some files and jotted down notes. _This should do it_ , she thought releasing a sigh. Tsunade had worked the entire afternoon coming up with ideas to test Manami's skills. It was only after downing three bottle of liquor that she came up with a final plan.

Scribbling instructions in three separate scrolls, Tsunade sealed them shut and handed them to Shizune.

"I need these delivered immediately; their names are on their respective scroll."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama." Shizune replied with a bow. She looked down at her pig, "Come on Tonton!"

Tsunade looked at the three files lying on her desk. _I hope this works_ , she thought tiredly. _Time for another bottle of sake._

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

"Would you quit gawking at every little thing?" barked Anko, glancing back at Manami. "Geez, I feel like I'm taking an Academy student to her first summer festival."

"Sorry, Anko-san!" Manami exclaimed, eying a book store. The village was huge! Buildings were everywhere and several stories high. "Everything's so fascinating here!"

Anko grimaced. "Where did you say you were from again?"

Manami stopped in her tracks and lowered her head, thinking about her home in the Land of Departure. How long would it be until she could stroll through the halls of the tower again? When would she be able to practice her skills with her master again? Noticing the sudden change in Manami's demeanor, Anko grimaced and marched over to Manami grabbing her wrist then dragging her down the street.

Manami struggled against the firm grip. _She's going to cut off my circulation if she holds it any harder!_

Anko continued to drag Manami through the streets until she stopped in front of a small shop. Manami stopped struggling when a sweet smell caught her attention. Looking up, Manami saw a few people in the open doorway eating off small plates. Anko shoved Manami through the entryway and into a seat.

"Don't move," she ordered.

Manami was stiff in her chair with wide eyes as Anko walked away. "Wait- Where are you going?!" she called out. Anko disappeared into a line of customers and Manami sat there dumbfounded. _I can't believe she just left me here!_ she thought, silently panicking _. She knows I don't know anything and I would get lost so easily. Is she just gonna leave me here? What if she doesn't come back? I swear I'm-_

A loud clank interrupted Manami from her thoughts. Manami looked down in front of her to see a plate of two sticks with little balls on them. Anko was happily munching on one of hers as she sat down across from Manami.

"What's that?" Manami asked pointing to the plate before her.

Anko raised an eyebrow and answered, "They're dangos! Sweetest things around here."

Manami eyed the food suspiciously before picking up one of the sticks poking through three of the little balls. With caution, Manami slowly took a bite out of the first ball. Her eyes widened at the enjoyable taste that flooded her tongue. Anko snickered as Manami shoved the rest of the dango piece in her mouth.

"I thought you might like it," Anko said, grinning at Manami's expression.

"I've never had anything like this!" Manami replied enthusiastically. "It's delicious!"

Anko beamed with one of the sticks poking out of the corner of her mouth and Manami almost choked with laughter at the sight.

"What?!" asked Anko.

Manami suppressed her giggling long enough to answer, "Nothing. It's just, you kinda reminded me of Gemna-san."

Anko stared at Manami wide-eyed, "Welp," she started, pulling the stick from her lips, "I think you've had enough excitement for one day. Time to go to my place."

Manami nodded her head and picked up her remaining dango stick, munching on it as she followed Anko through the town once again.

FIN

 _So, not that much different, and still a bit of a filler. Lemme know what you guys think! ~KunoichiBlade_


	17. Sleepover at Anko's

Ch 17: Sleepover at Anko's

"Oh. My. _Word_." Manami was frozen in Anko's doorway, staring into the apartment. The place was literally crawling with snakes. Well, slithering to be accurate. Snakes covered the floor, the furniture- even the walls had makeshift branches made of various weapons for the things to use!

"What'cha waitin' for girlie," Anko exclaimed, "come on in!"

Manami felt a strong hand on her back and was shoved into the living room; Anko followed her in, locking the door. Manami continued to stand in place as Anko walked over to the couch, her pets parting for each step.

"What you standin' around for?" she asked, a wicked grin growing on her face. "You're not afraid of a few snakes are you?"

Manami stiffened at Anko's teasing. "I'm fine," she squeak out, "there are just so many of them, I was afraid of stepping on one."

Anko narrowed her eyes at Manami before flopping down on the couch. "It's not them you need to worry about."

Manami took a half step back, "What do you mean?" she asked cautiously.

"I mean that these guys don't do anything without my say so," Anko answered ominously. "I'm the one you have to worry about."

Manami furrowed her brows, cautiously eyeing the back of the couch. Without a response, Manami began to pick her way through the carpet on snakes to a cushioned red chair across from the couch. Reaching her destination, Manami discovered a mid-sized white snake neatly coiled up in the middle of the seat. Manami sighed and stared at the creature.

"You wouldn't mind if I asked to have this seat, would you?" she asked sweetly.

The white snake cracked its eyes open to reveal sleek blue-green eyes. It looked at Manami for a moment before coiling tighter. Manami grimaced for a moment but her eyes widened when the snake unwound itself. It slithered up the side of the chair and perched on top of the backing. Manami cautiously sat down, leaning forward slightly to give the snake some room. Anko snorted in amusement when Manami gave a slight jump. The snake had decided to drape itself around Manami's neck.

Manami let out a soft laugh and relaxed into the chair. "I suppose it's only fair, since I took your spot."

The snake blinked at Manami before nestling its head inside the collar of her vest. She could feel the faint movement from its breathing.

"His name is Kenta."

Manami looked up to see Anko reclined on her couch, snakes lying around her and even a few on her. While one hand hung over the edge, the other reached up to stroke one of her pets from the base of its head, down its spine.

"It means 'healthy or strong' and 'big or thick'," she continued. "Kenta is one of the youngest ones here."

"Ah, I see." Manami said, slightly surprised. The white snake around her didn't appear to be much at first glance, but having it draped on her shoulders, Manami could feel the strength in its muscles. Manami couldn't decide if she felt a little safer or more nervous as the creature snoozed.

"So, you nervous about your little 'test' tomorrow?" Anko asked enthusiastically.

Manami bounced her head from side to side, "I suppose so. Don't really know what to expect."

Anko picked up a kunai from the floor and began to fiddle with it. "If it's anything like the Chunin exams, you're in for a real treat!"

"What are the Chunin exams?" Manami asked curiously. Anko sat up so quickly, she nearly fell off the couch when she heard the question.

"You don't know what the Chunin exams are?!"

Manami shook her head, "That's why I'm asking. Is it something I should be worried about?"

Anko gave a short laugh before replying, "Of course it's something to worry about! The layout's a bit different every year but basically a bunch of Genin take a written test, then are tossed in the Forest of Death."

"Wait wait wait. The Forest of Death?!" Manami exclaimed, "What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Well, it's actually the 44th Training Ground but it's been dubbed the Forest of Death because it's such an unlucky place." Anko replied nonchalantly. "The first few teams to make it out with certain scrolls they fight for get to advance to the next stage."

"But, I'm alone," Manami chimed in. "I'm not a part of a team or anything."

"Hmm, that's true," Anko held her hand up to her chin, "Then perhaps it'll be like the third stage."

Manami quirked an eyebrow, "The third stage?"

Anko was basically bouncing from excitement at this point, pacing around the room, swinging the kunai every which way. "It's where those from the second stage go and fight one-on-one battles! It's like a typical bracket system with each winner fighting the next set. My personal favorite of the stages."

"Wow," Manami replied in awe, "so even if you make it to the final stage, you can still lose in the end."

Anko shook her head, "Not necessarily. It's possible to lose a fight but still be promoted. Just how even if you win you may not get promoted."

"I think I get it," Manami replied, "But how do they determine who gets promoted."

Anko sat back on the couch and swung the kunai around her finger. "That's a good question."

With a final swing, Anko flicked her finger and sent the kunai flying into the wall. Manami stiffened in her chair from the accuracy of the throw. It landed perfectly between two snakes with no room for error without injuring one of them. _And she did it without even looking_ , Manami thought in amazement.

"To be honest, I'm not really sure." Anko continued, "I've never really be a part of the selecting process for who makes it. Usually it's those with outstanding qualities and good leadership skills."

"Oh," was Manami's only reply. She leaned back in her chair and bowed her head in thought, _I don't have either of those qualities. I've never lead anybody and there's nothing special about me- if I don't make it, what's gonna happen to me?_

* _thunk_ *

Manami's head shot up and she felt something cold against her cheek. Glancing to her left, Manami found a kunai embedded in the back of the chair right next to her face.

"Hey!" she shouted, "what gives?!"

Anko shook her head gloomily, "You didn't even sense the threat. How are you going to pass a test if you can't even do that?"

Manami was taken aback. She had a point.

"Perhaps I didn't react because I didn't feel an actual threat," Manami countered.

"I threw a kunai at your face!" Anko retorted.

"But you didn't hit me."

Manami watched Anko's face freeze up; she had caught her there. Anko plopped back down on the couch without another word, snatching another stray kunai from the floor. Manami could see a small smirk peeking out and she couldn't help but grin herself. _Maybe I do have a chance. A small one, but a chance nonetheless._

A short while later, Anko sprang up from her spot on the couch, startling Manami awake. _Hmmm, I must have dozed off at some point_ , she thought. She watched Anko walk into a hallway and heard her shuffling around a closet. Anko reemerged with a blanket and pillow.

"I'm afraid I don't have any spare beds for you," she said, "so you'll have to sleep on the couch."

"That's alright," Manami replied, standing up, "thank you for taking care of me."

Anko waved her hand nonchalantly in the air, "It's not like I had much of a choice. Orders are orders."

Manami laughed, "That's true. But still, I really appreciate you doing this for me."

"Eh," Anko shrugged, "Kenta likes you, so I guess you're all right."

Manami beamed at the snake around her neck and stroked him gently along his spine. She sat down on the couch and carefully placed Kenta beside her. Anko grinned at the newly formed friendship between the two.

"Bathroom's down the hall and to the right," Anko announced, walking to her bedroom. "I'm turnin' in for the night."

"Night!" Manami called after her. She caught a glimpse of Anko waving her hand again.

Adjusting the pillow to her liking, Manami noticed that all the snakes had given her a foot radius around the couch and a small pathway to the hall. Glancing towards the light switch, Manami saw a large green and brown snake flick the light off with its tail.

"Thank you," she whispered to all of them. Manami settled down on the couch, pulling the blanket over her shoulder. She felt Kenta slither up to sleep on the back of the couch near her. Even with the insane amount of snakes around her, Manami felt surprisingly safe. After the day that she had, Manami fell asleep almost instantly.

FIN

 _Eep! Now we're getting to the good stuff! Sadly though, I must say it will probably be two weeks before I post another chapter. 1- Class are unearthly demanding right now, 2- I have a convention I'm attending next weekend so I'll be a bit pre-occupied, and 3- The next few chapters will be more action packed so I don't want to tease you the disappear for a few weeks xD  
(and lemme know what you would like to see for possible ideas)_

 _Until next time! ~KunoichiBlade_


	18. The Test

_Hello everyone! How are you? It's been a while hasn't it? Sorry about that... Anyways, here's the next chapter. Enjoy! ~KB_

Ch 18: The Test

Manami followed Lady Tsunade on their way to the test site. She had a good night's rest, courtesy of Anko (and Kenta) and felt ready for whatever was about to happen.

Tsunade escorted Manami from her office and through the village. Outside, Manami noticed children playing outside what appeared to be a school. She smiled softly at their antics, giggling when she saw them pretending to be older ninja. A flash of spikey hair caught her eye, but before she could get a good look, Tsunade ushered her forward to continue.

The two women came to a large arena, where they entered through a set of double doors. They walked through a labyrinth of hallways, stopping in front of an open iron gateway. Manami peaked into the heart of the arena and guessed the surrounding stands were large enough to seat hundreds of spectators.

"Alright," began Tsunade, standing in the middle of the entrance, "you may choose whatever weapon you would like to use and as many you want." She gestured to a table containing weapons of every sort: katanas, spears, tessen fans, kunais, etc. Manami was in awe at the vast array on display for her to pick from.

"You will be put through three different tests to evaluate your skills," Tsunade continued, "your results will help us determine where you will work for the time you are with us."

"I understand, Tsunade-sama," Manami replied, already analyzing the different weaponry. "If I may, what are the three tests?"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that," Tsunade answered curtly, crossing her arms.

Manami picked up a tanto blade, weighing it in her hands. "I figured. Thank you anyways."

Tsunade bowed her head, "Once you have decided what to use, step into the arena and we will begin. Try not to take too long."

"Of course." Manami set the blade down and bowed to Tsunade as she left. Looking back at the table, Manami was overcome with a great sense of indecisiveness and a hint of sorrow. _Normally I'd use my Keyblade_ , she thought, _but that's not an option._ _What would be a good replacement?_ So far Manami had only spotted a couple of katana that fit her liking. The length was close to that of her Keyblade, but it was a fair bit lighter in weight than what she was used to.

After a few more minutes of evaluating her choices, Manami finally decided on one of the katana as her primary weapon. As a back-up, Manami gathered a small arsenal of kunai, senbon, and shuriken. Only a small leg strap and waist pouch were provided for her to use, so Manami tucked what she could in there and hid the rest throughout her clothes.

Finished with her preparations, Manami took a deep breath and walked into the stadium.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Tsunade watched Manami walk into the Chunin Exam Stadium. Her stride was confident, but not prideful. _We'll see how long that lasts_ , she thought noting the katana and weapon pouches.

"Alright you three," she began, turning to the ninjas beside her, "any bets on when the new girl folds?"

Two of the three ninjas sighed and shook their head while the third exclaimed, "No worries Lady Tsunade! Our youthful match shall not last long so that you may return to your paperwork as soon as possible!"

Tsunade pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance, "Let's just get this over with."

With a flick of her finger, Tsunade sent the third ninja down into the arena. She watched as Manami took a step back when the ninja appeared in front of her. Pulling a small bottle from her sleeve, Tsunade took a swig of sake thinking, _This ought to be interesting_.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Manami kept a hand on the hilt of the katana; her opponent had appeared out of nowhere, _literally_ , and was standing with an arm out giving her a thumbs up.

"WELCOME Youthful Newcomer!" the ninja donned in a green jumpsuit shouted excitedly. "I am your first opponent in this test, Might Guy!"

"Uhh, hello?" Manami replied warily. She remembered the way Ibiki had introduced himself, "My name is Kiyomizu Manami."

"WELCOME Manami-chan!" Guy continued, reaffirming his thumbs-up pose, "It is wonderful to have you in our village! I look forward to this challenge with you!"

Manami gripped the hilt of the katana harder, "What's the challenge?"

Guy flashed her a wide grin and Manami swore the sun glinted off his teeth.

"We are to fight in a match using taijutsu." he replied.

Manami raised an eyebrow, "Taijutsu?"

"YES!" Guy exclaimed placing his fists on his hips, "A physical test of strength and stamina!"

Manami nodded in acknowledgement. "Alright then," she said crouching into her defensive stance, "Let's do this."

Guy beamed even larger, "YOSH!"

Not wasting a second, Guy launched into a flurry of attacks. Various kicks and punches were thrown in rapid succession but Manami blocked most them with the sheath over the katana. The few blows that landed on her began to sting as Guy refused to let up on his assault. His attacks were so fast Manami couldn't find an opening to throw in a simple punch.

Manami couldn't guess how much time had passed since the match started. She could feel the bruises increasing with every blow and her blocks were weakening. Guy on the other hand looked like he was just warming up.

Over and over again, Manami tried to make her first move but failed to do anything but absorb the oncoming blows. She even tried to slip behind him but Guy was quick on his feet and aimed a kick backwards. Sensing the change in his muscles, Manami ducked under the kick and shoved Guy's leg upwards, throwing him off balance.

"Ha ha!" Guy exclaimed regaining his balance, "That was a tricky move my dear!"

Manami grinned, "If you liked that, then you'll love this!"

She unsheathed the katana and went for a basic attack combo: stab, swing, and overhead. As she lunged forward, Guy sidestepped the attack and fell into a back-flip when Manami swung horizontally at him. Manami circled the blade over her head and caught the edge of Guy's sleeve as he tried to dodge.

Guy admired the hole in his upper arm. "Very clever!" he shouted. "Now it's my turn!"

Reaching behind his back, Guy pulled out a set of nun-chucks and began expertly spinning them around. He flipped it over his shoulder, around his waist, and under his leg for effect. Manami held the katana up in defense and waited patiently.

"What are you waiting for my dear?!" he shouted.

"I'm not really prone to attacking without cause," Manami admitted bashfully.

Guy let out a hearty laugh. "As good spirited as that is, it won't get you far in a youthful bout such as this!"

Manami saw him shift to the left and prepared for an attack. Guy lunged forward, aiming to knock the katana out of her hands. Manami knocked the nun-chuck aside and the two went at it, trying to knock the other's weapon out of their hands. This time Manami was able to match Guy's speed with the weapon, but she knew it wouldn't last for long. The repeated attacks were slowly wearing her down and Manami still had other rounds after this one. She needed to end this.

* _Clank!_ *

In the blink of an eye, Guy had the nun-chuck chain wrapped around Manami's blade. She didn't even realize she had moved to defend by the time they were locked against each other. Guy tried to yank the katana out of Manami's grip but she tightened her hold, refusing to give in. The two were steadfast in their hold and unwilling to give the other an upper hand.

It was time for a risk. It was a long shot, but if Manami acted quick enough she just might have a chance. Manami turned her ankle inwards, shifting her body sideways to slip the katana out of the nun-chuck's hold. Before Guy could react and with her blade already drawn back, Manami lurched forward, knocking Guy off balance from her sudden advance. The katana pressed against Guy's throat without giving him a chance to recover.

"I win." Manami smirked.

Guy beamed up at her. Grinning from ear to ear he commented, "That you have my dear!"

Manami smiled down at him and offered a hand. Guy graciously accepted her offer and practically bounced back on his feet.

"Now what?" Manmai asked, sheathing the katana.

"Now?" Guy echoed, "Now it's time for your second opponent!"

She looked over her shoulder to where Guy was pointing. Blue eyes meet burning red and Manami felt her body go slack as she fell to her knees.

FIN

 _Not gonna lie, that was fun. I really enjoyed writing this fight sequence. Can't wait for the next set! Let me know what you guys think, more action or interaction, character depth, blah blah blah stuff like that. Feedback really helps so I know how/what my readers like :)  
And thank you everyone who has read thus far (hearts)!_

 _NOTICE: It will probably be another two weeks before I update. Classes are ridiculous this semester and have taken over my life._

 _Until next time! ~KunoichiBlade_


	19. The Test Part Two

_As the great Mushu once said, "I LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVVVVEEEEE!" Sigh, it is good to be back! Sorry it took so long to get this written, classes got crazy and assignments were due left and right xP Finally managed to get this typed up over our fall break and it's edited and everything. Time for Manami to endure her second test, with a small surprise at the end ;) Hope you all enjoy! ~KB_

Ch 19: The Test Part Two

Manami's knees hit the ground with a hard _thud_ and she tensed when she realized she couldn't move. The intense red eyes kept her in place as the figure sauntered towards her. A village headband held back curtains of black hair, and wide wrappings were draped across the body in a short dress pattern with one red sleeve. Manami determined the figure to be a woman and noted the wrappings along her forearms and hands.

"Who are you?" she croaked out.

The red eyes glinted with mirth as the woman replied, "I am Yuhi Kurenai and this is your second test."

Manami narrowed her eyes, "Alright, what is it then?"

Kurenai smirked down at her, "Let's see if you can figure it out."

A flash of light caught Manami's eye and she was able to move out of the way of the shuriken thrown at her. The shift in momentum helped her grab ahold of her senses and Manami was back on her feet in no time.

She unsheathed the katana and held it ready for another attack. Kurenai kept her distance, baring only a few visible shuriken. A strange rumbling caught Manami's attention and the ground began to shake. Large vines suddenly broke through the ground and wrapped around Manami, pinning her limbs together. Thorns of various sizes pierced through skin and tore her clothes. Manami tried to wiggle out of its grasp but stopped due to it inflicting more injuries on herself.

Manami locked eyes with Kurenai again as she approached her. The sheer intensity of those eyes sent shivers down her spine but Manami couldn't look away. She continued to struggle against the vines, creating cuts all over her body. Finally, Manami managed to grab a kunai from the leg pouch and cut parts of a vine off, freeing her arm. Manami deflected the shuriken aimed for her and sliced across the other vine holding her down.

Dropping to the ground, Manami grabbed the fallen katana and ran towards Kurenai. Before she could get close enough to attack, random vines appeared out of the ground. Manami cut them down with a single swipe of the katana before they had a chance to grab her again. When Manami was close enough, she swung to attack Kurenai but the katana embedded itself deep in a tree trunk where the ninja once stood. Manami tugged on the handle of the blade, _it's stuck_ , she grimly thought, _oh great_.

Suddenly, the katana was sucked into the tree, dragging a surprised Manami with it. She didn't have enough time to react before her hand was swallowed by the trunk. Some force in the tree was pulling her in like quick sand; Manami was elbow deep and nothing was working. If she didn't figure out something quick, she was going to be swallowed whole by the trunk. _Think, think_ , she told herself, _what's the best way to get out of this?_

Manami took a deep breath and stood extremely still. _If this thing behaves like quicksand, the less I move, the less I'll be drawn in_ , she concluded.

As Manami stood there, the tree trunk drew her in less and less until it stopped mid-bicep. Manami released a sigh of relief when she was no longer being drawn in and tugged at her arm. _Still stuck_ , she thought grimly. Glancing around, Manami saw no sign of Kurenai anywhere. _That can't be good_.

Sharp pain across her upper thigh confirmed her thoughts. Manami looked down to see a large gash on her leg. A glint caught her eye and Manami gasped when she saw an arm holding a kunai emerging from the tree. Manami struggled to free her arm as Kurenai slowly appeared from the tree trunk. In a desperate attempt, Manami put all her force into yanking her arm out. She somehow managed to bend her arm in the trunk with enough force to break apart the dead wood right as Kurenai stepped out.

Splinters flew in every direction, giving Manami a few scratches on her cheek in addition to the bloody mess that was her arm. Pieces of wood were lodged in her arm, which was surprisingly still clutching the katana. Manami plucked out the slivers of wood, wincing at the pain. She hissed at one piece in particular lodged deep in her forearm.

Manami took the katana in her left hand and let her injured arm go limp. _If I force it too much I'll bleed to death_ , she thought. _Now, where's that ninja?_

The whiz of a shuriken passing her ear caught her attention. Manami whipped around to find Kurenai running straight towards her and crouched into a defensive stance. Kurenai lunged at Manami but she deflected the attack away from her sending Kurenai into a backflip away from her.

Pain suddenly tore through the middle Manami's chest. She could feel the cool sting of a blade and the warm blood sliding down her stomach. Her breathing became labored and her vision blurred. Turning her head sideways, Manami saw a second Kurenai holding the dagger running through her torso. Red eyes burned into blue as Manami sank to the ground for a second time.

She felt the blade slip out from her torso and heard Kurenai back away. It was over now.

Manami's breathing became ragged as she felt as if her lungs were being crushed; her throat was suffocating, her vision was tunneling and her mind became fuzzy. The scenery around her became blurry, the mess from the battle appeared to disappear in and out at random. The delusions became worse as Manami felt her consciousness slowly slipping away.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Manami gasped for air when she suddenly felt all the tension on her chest and neck disappear.

As the air returned to Manami's lungs, she discovered herself lying on her side. Getting up Manami saw that she was still in the arena but everything looked perfectly fine. Something around her chest moved and Manami saw a white snake curl into her lap.

"Kenta?" she asked.

The white creature blinked at Manami in response. It slithered forward up her arm to nuzzle her neck, almost as if were apologizing for something.

Manami stood up but stumbled forward a bit. She could still feel the effects of all the injuries she received from her fight with Kurenai but when she looked down to inspect the wounds Manami discovered that she was unscathed.

Questions flooded her mind but before she had a chance to ponder them, Manami sensed danger and dodged a kunai just in time. Manami grimaced when she saw Kurenai holding a few shuriken and looking more offensive than before. Drawing the katana, Manami crouched in defense as a response.

"What the heck just happened?!" she called to Kurenai. "This place was a mess just a minute ago and now it's like nothing happened!"

Kurenai grinned at Manami's confusion, "That's because nothing did happen," she replied, "not physically anyway. From the moment you looked at me you were trapped in my genjutsu."

Manami quirked an eyebrow, "What the heck is a genjutsu?"

Kurenai shook her head. "It's an illusionary technique. Everything that just happened was an illusion until your little snake decided to interfere. It wrapped around you and began to suffocate you. As your consciousness slipped so did the illusion. Eventually you were able to slip out of the genjutsu and back into reality."

Kenta nuzzled against Manami's neck again and she realized that he was apologizing for having to choke her.

"I understand," she told him. Manami raised her hand to pet Kenta on the head to let him know it was alright. "You knew I was trapped in that illusion, didn't you?"

Kenta nodded his head and Manami smiled at him. "Thank you. Now, let's finish this."

Kenta flicked his tongue in agreement.

 _Alright_ , Manami thought, _if the illusion started from the moment I looked into her eyes I need to avoid doing that for the rest of the fight_.

Manami decided to focus on Kurenai's midsection. It allowed her to see her arms and legs for movement while avoiding Kurenai's face altogether. Manami charged at the ninja at swiped at her when she was in range. Kurenai dodged the attack and countered immediately. She tried to redirect Manami's focus upwards by attacking from above but Manami refused to look up, instead suffering from a few of the blows and relying to Kenta to help deflect the attacks.

The two worked surprisingly well together for only having just met. Manami chalked it up to Kenta being raised under Anko. He was probably born and trained to be a ninja's companion. _But I'm not a ninja_ , Manami thought, thrusting the katana at Kurenai. She rather enjoyed her new friendship with the snake and found him to be extremely reliable.

Manami deflected some shuriken and blocked a jab from a kunai. She swiped at Kurenai but missed as she back-flipped out of the way. Manami swung overhead but Kurenai blocked it with a couple of kunai, locking them in place. She kept her gaze between Kurenai's feet, searching for a sign indicating her next move.

A new presence appeared in the arena but Manami focused on Kurenai. It didn't feel threatening so she wasn't going to bother with it unless it decided to attack.

Manami saw Kurenai take a step back and she immediately went to block an attack, except that it never came. Instead, Manami noticed the female ninja had taken a relaxed stance. Taking a chance, Manami looked up at Kurenai face to face.

The black haired woman gave Manami a slight grin and bowed her head, indicating their match was over. Manami sheathed the katana and bowed in response. Kurenai smiled as she turned around and vanished into thin air.

The presence Manami felt before hadn't left, if anything it felt stronger. _Must be my next opponent_ , she thought. _Let's find out what's next_.

Manami turned around to meet a shock of silvery white hair that practically defied gravity. Her opponent this time was male and donned the standard navy uniform and green jacket she'd seen throughout the village. The only main difference was his headband and a mask. Rather than the headband normally resting on the forehead, this guy had it pulled over his left eye as a makeshift eyepatch. The mask covered the rest of his face, from his nose to the base of his neck, so the only visible part of his face was his right eye.

"Hello," greeted the new ninja nonchalantly, "My name is Hatake Kakashi and I will be your final opponent."

FIN

 _SOOOOOOOOOOO? What'd you think?!  
I actually really enjoyed writing this chapter and I hope you all enjoyed it just as much (I won't know unless you tell me!)  
Anyways, see you all soon! ~KunoichiBlade_


	20. The Final Test

_And I am back! After a week of torture -.- Sorry for the wait, but Kakashi was as elusive as ever. Hope you enjoy the fight! ~KB_

 _Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto and I don't own the other reference ;)_

Ch 20: The Final Test

Manami kept a wary hand on the hilt of the katana as she analyzed her new opponent. Kakashi appeared very relaxed for someone who was about to fight.

"So," Manami began, "what's the test this time?"

"Simple," he replied, "all you have to do is get one of these." In his hand, Kakashi held up two silver bells hung by a red string.

"That's it?" Manami asked, furrowing her eyebrows, "all I have to do is get one of those two bells from you?"

"Yep," Kakashi replied, curving his eye up in a smile. Lowering the bells, Kakashi tied them to one of his front belt loops so they hung in view under the flak jacket.

 _At least he didn't hide them from me_ , Manami thought. She stood there, hesitant to bring out the katana so early in the fight.

"Well?" Kakashi asked, almost tauntingly.

Manami clenched her fists in aggravation. She knew it was going to be difficult getting the bells, no question about it. There was just something about Kakashi that screamed power and ability despite his calm demeanor.

"As I said before," she finally replied, "I'm not really prone to attacking without just cause."

"Hmm, think of it this way then," Kakashi began, "if you don't attack me, you won't get the bells. But _when_ you attack me, make sure you come at me with the intent to kill."

Manami's eyes widened at his words. _He wants me- to try and kill him?!_ To say she was stunned was an understatement.

Manami closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She gripped the katana tightly and unsheathed it. _I don't want to do this_ , she thought, _but I have no choice_.

Her eyes shot open and Manami lunged at Kakashi. Her goal was clear: retrieve a bell with as little interaction as possible. Course, that was easier said than done.

Manami swung the katana towards Kakashi, embedding the blade into his side. With a puff of smoke, Kakashi disappeared to reveal the blade lodged in a log instead. _Go figure_ , she thought. The move really didn't surprise her, not with everything she'd gone through already that day.

"I didn't think you'd fall for such an easy trick," remarked a voice from behind her. The hairs on Manami's neck bristled; this guy was beginning to get on her nerves.

"I didn't," she replied. Manami planted her leading foot firmly in the ground and used her previous stance to launch into another attack. She lunged forward again towards the white haired ninja, trying something a little different this time.

When she was close to Kakashi, Manami dove towards the ground rather than straight up attacking, dodge rolling past him. She sprang up behind Kakashi and swiped the katana at him.

* _Clang!_ *

The katana blade caught against a simple kunai Kakashi held. He still appeared composed, as if the strength it took to fend off the blade was nothing.

"Is that all you got?" Kakashi taunted. "I told you to come at me with everything you've got."

Reaching behind him, Manami prepared for another weapon attack but instead Kakashi pulled out a little orange covered book. Flipping to a dog-eared page, Kakashi began to read as if nothing important was going on, even as he held the kunai firm against the katana.

Manami furrowed her brows in a deep frown and glared at Kakashi. _A book- he's reading a book in the middle of our fight?!_ she thought angrily. _The gall of this man!_

"Fine then," she snapped. Manami released the katana with one hand, keeping the blades locked with the other.

"Try this," she smirked at him. Manami pulled on some wire that was wrapped around her hand, it was so thin it was practically invisible. When she yanked the wire, it caused a flurry of shuriken to fly towards them. Manami dropped towards the ground and swipe-kicked Kakashi's feet from under him while he was distracted.

* _Poof!_ *

As Kakashi's back hit the ground, his body turned into a chuck of wood. _Not again!_ Manami thought dejectedly.

"Hey!" came a voice from behind her. Again.

Manami whipped around and glared daggers at the ninja. If only looks could kill.

"Not too bad," Kakashi continued, "except for the fact that I saw you plant the shuriken before you attacked, try to be a little more discreet next time. Nice touch with the wire though. Keep it up and you just might get the bells."

At this point Manami couldn't tell if Kakashi was encouraging her or taunting her.

Before she could respond, Kakashi sank into the ground below him. Manami froze in place, with Kakashi out of her sight there was no telling what he could do. He could pop out of the ground and attack her like one of the Neoshadows or try to grab her ankle and pull her underground with him. He could even be digging a hole to trap her in, sneak attack from behind, or he could do nothing at all!

Manami's head was spinning from all the possibilities, _Stop_ , she told herself, _you're making things too complicated; you can't outsmart him- just go with your gut._

Manami sheathed the katana and knelt down to the ground. Removing a glove from one hand, Manami placed the flat of her palm against the dirt. _Don't think, just feel_.

Manami's brow furrowed in frustration, _I can't feel him_ , she thought. It was a technique she learned in another world. There was a little blind girl she saw that could move around like everyone else and even do earthbending, all by feeling the vibrations of the earth on her bare feet.

The shift of a pebble was all Manami needed. As soon as she felt the change in the earth, Manami jumped high in the air and saw Kakashi emerge from the spot she was just at. Landing a few yards away, Manami wasted no time in whipping out the katana again.

Kakashi had his feet planted firmly against the ground, forming several different hand symbols so quickly, Manami couldn't keep up.

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!" Kakashi held his fingers to his masked lips and blew through them, sending a large ball of fire hurling towards Manami.

Without much time to respond Manami pointed the katana at the fireball, "Blizzara!" she shouted. A ball of misty-ice shot from the tip of the blade towards the fire and Manami weakly ran in the opposite direction.

Upon impact there was large explosion, knocking both Kakashi and Manami off their feet and filling the arena with steam. Manami looked around from where she lay but was blinded by the mist; magic really sapped her strength so she tried not to use it too often. She would be vulnerable for a bit as her body recovered from the strain.

Placing her palm on the ground, Manami waited patiently to see if she could feel Kakashi coming. Her only hope was that the blast knocked him far enough away to where he would have a hard time trying to find her in the mist.

As luck would have it, Manami could feel Kakashi walking around, his movements quiet and calculated. He knew where she was, Manami could feel it. He was planning his next attack.

The steam was slowly beginning to settle; rays of light began to peak through. Manami didn't have much time.

Suddenly, Kakashi's movements stopped. Though she couldn't see him yet, Manami could sense him a few yards in front of her. By now her energy had returned and Manami could move like she did before, but remained lying on the ground. It was a long shot but there was one last thing she could try to do to get the bells.

A light chirp caught Manami's attention. Another chirp came and Manami gripped the hilt of the katana, something was wrong. The chirping continued, becoming more and more frequent. A flash of light caught her eye, Manami looked up to see a faint glow through the lingering mist. It now sounded as if there where thousands of birds chirping and it came from the glow.

Manami hastily stood up and pointed the katana at Kakashi. As the last of the mist faded, Manami saw Kakashi holding his wrist as a ball of white energy crackled in his hand. White shocks of lightening would shoot out at times, leaving a burnt and broken patch on the ground.

Manami had to act while Kakashi was "charging" his attack. She gripped the hilt firmly and shouted "Thundaga!"

Kakashi's head snapped towards her, but it was too late. A column of yellow lightening bolted down from the sky. When the lightening hit Kakashi, the combination of both lightening techniques caused another explosion. Manami ducked from the flying debris, but was caught off balance due to her weakened state. _Not my original intention, but I guess it works_ , she thought.

As the dust settled, Manami got up and walked over to Kakashi. His body spazzed from the electric shock and before he could recover, Manami swiftly bent over and grabbed the bells.

"I win," she announced softly.

"Not quite," came a voice from behind her.

Manami whipped around and sure enough, there stood another Kakashi perfectly unharmed. Manami's head bounced from the Kakashi on the ground to the one standing unscathed. _There's two of him?! It's just like that time in the forest_ , she thought.

Manami looked back at the Kakashi on the ground and once again it poofed out of sight. Glancing in her hand, the bells she retrieved from the Kakashi disappeared as well.

"When will you stop falling for the same trick?" Kakashi asked.

"Hey, at least you didn't turn into a log this time!" Manami grumpily countered.

"Haha, I suppose that's true. But you're still missing these," Kakashi said, holding up the two silver bells.

Manami was at a loss for words. After everything she had been through and she couldn't even retrieve a simple pair of bells. Her body was weak and suffering from the magic attacks, not to mention everything else she had been put through before. _I can't take much more of this_ , she thought morbidly.

"Argh! I have had it!" Manami cried in frustration, "Would you please just give me the damn bells?!"

Kakashi tilted his head to the side and held his fingers over his chin, as if to imitate a thinking pose. "Well, I suppose so," he said, "after all, we have all the data we need."

Manami's jaw hit the ground. After everything that just transpired, he was just going to give her the bells?! To prove his point, Kakashi tossed the bells to Manami. She caught them with ease out of the air.

Eyeing the silver balls suspiciously, Manami shook the red string for fear of them disappearing again. A small chink came from the bells. They were real alright.

"Okay, uh-," Manami began, "Thank you, I guess."

Kakashi nodded in response, giving her another eye-smile. With that, Kakashi vanished in a puff of smoke leaving Manami alone in the arena.

FIN

 _As usual: What'd ya think?! I rely on you guys to keep me in line with the character and if the story is interesting enough. Hope you enjoyed that extra surprise I threw in there :) Until next time! ~KunoichiBlade_


	21. Results

_Merry Christmas everyone! Hope you are enjoying the holidays :)  
I apologize in advance for spelling/grammar errors. One of my editors is having issues with her computer and can't access the document, so this chapter might be updated a little later on (but of course I will let you all know). Enjoy! ~KB_

 _Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or KH..._

 _~Updated: 2/26/16~_

Ch 21: Results

As much as she wanted to plop down on the ground in exhaustion, Manami held her ground until she was told what to do next. If she had learned anything from the past three fights, it was to always be on your toes. Being unprepared cost valuable time in these battles.

Tsunade appeared out of nowhere in front of Manami, almost giving her a heart attack.

"Well done!" Tsunade congratulated with a smile, "Not gonna lie, I'm surprised you're still standing."

 _Gee, that's encouraging_ , Manami thought grimly.

Patting her on the back (rather firmly), Tsunade ushered Manami towards a set of doors opposite of where she first entered.

"Follow that hallway and take a right," she instructed, "keep going till you reach a T junction and take a left. Continue till you are brought to a large waiting room. Nurses will be there for a post-battle check-up."

Manami nodded her head wearily in response. She struggled to put the katana away for a moment but managed to get it in the sheath. Manami faced Tsunade fully and bowed respectfully before making her way down the instructed path.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

"So what are your thoughts?" Tsunade asked the three ninja. The four of them had moved to a viewing box space higher up in the stadium.

"Please! Allow me to report first!" asked an overly enthusiastic Guy. His voice echoing in the empty stone room. Beside him, Kurenai rolled her eyes and Kakashi ignored the usual antics of Konoha's Green Beast.

Tsunade sighed, shifting her weight in her stool. She nodded her head in response.

"ALRIGHT!" exclaimed Guy, "I thought our beloved Manami-chan did fabulously! While she was not able to stand up against my Flurry Kicks, Manami-chan fought valiantly and was soon able to catch me off guard! Her skills with the katana are exemplary as well!"

"I agree," Kurenai continued, "even though she was caught in my genjutsu for a while, she was able to fight back as if it were normal combat. Although, it wasn't until that snake nearly suffocated her that she realized she was trapped in an illusion, which could prove troublesome for her on an actual mission."

Kakashi nodded his head in agreement. "It's clear that she doesn't know how to manipulate chakra, although I sensed she has an average amount. She was neither able to escape the genjutsu on her own nor used any ninjutsu against me. However her combat skills are decent enough and the trick she used for the lightning bolt and ice were notable to say the least; excluding the fact that she is considerably vulnerable afterwards."

Tsunade smirked at their responses. "Perceptive as always. Well, since she's a 'decent enough fighter' as Kakashi put it, Manami-san can be useful on missions. But what should we do about the chakra issue?"

The four pondered the possibilities. The light streaming in from the long, narrow opening to the arena inched across the barren floor.

"I suppose she should start with the basics," Kurenai remarked, shifting her stance.

"You're right!" Guy chimed in, "We should get someone youthful to teach our beloved Manami-chan!"

"They'd have to be patient," Kakashi commented dryly, tucking his hands in his pockets.

"Someone who is used to explaining things."

"Someone youthful and knowledgeable!"

"Someone stubborn enough to handle newbies."

"Alright then it's settled!" Tsunade exclaimed standing up so suddenly her stool was knocked over. "I'll have Shizune start filling out the paperwork. You three are dismissed!"

The three ninja bowed respectively before exiting the room.

"Do you think it'll work?" Kurenai asked as they walked down the hall.

Kakashi nodded his head as they turned a corner, "I don't see why not."

"If there is Anyone who is Able to do It I'm sure He Can!" Gai responded enthusiastically.

"I suppose you're right. If anyone can teach Manami-chan about chakra and how to control it, it's him." Kurenai concluded.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

 _Darkness._

 _That's all there was._

 _*plip*_

 _Cold. Wet._

 _*plip* *plip*_

 _The gradual increase caused her to shiver. Even in the darkness she could see the mist._

 _"Manami"_

 _Whipping around, her eyes saw nothing._

 _"Hello?" she called out._

 _Silence._

 _The soft rain faded, leaving a familiar mist around her._

 _*Chirp*_

 _She whipped around again, ready for a fight. Still, she saw nothing._

 _*Chirp* *Chirp* *Chirp*_

 _The frequency of the chirps increased. She couldn't move._

 _A faint white light crackled._

I have to get out of here, _she thought. But her muscles refused to budge._

 _"Manami"_

 _A faint yellow dot appeared. Then two- now six._

 _*Chirp* *Chirp*_

 _"Manami-"_

 _They weren't dots, they were eyes; dozens of them, glowing._

 _*Chirp*Chirp*Chirp*_

 _"Manami!"_

 _Hundreds of them-_

 _*ChirpChirpChirpChirp*_

 _"MANAMI"_

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Manami woke with a start. Beads of sweat rolled down her temple, her heart pounding out of her chest. Blinking a couple of times, Manami recognized the ceiling of the room she was brought to for the check-up. She sat up slowly to prevent the room from spinning, thinking to herself, _What happened?_

"Manami-san."

Manami's head snapped up to find Tsunade looking at her with a concerned expression.

"Yes, Tsunade-sama," she croaked out. Manami made a face at how hoarse she sounded. A nurse handed her a glass of water, which she downed instantly.

"How are you feeling?" Tsunade asked.

"Never better," she replied, this time sounding almost normal.

"The nurses tell me you passed out during the inspection. Care to explain? You appeared a little weary as you left, but not so much to think that you would faint."

"I guess-" Manami began hesitantly. The truth was she didn't really know herself. "I guess I was more worn out than I thought I was. I'm not surprised that the magic drained me the way it did, that was to be expected, but I suppose I put more effort into the fight than I first anticipated. In the end it all caught up to me."

"Magic?"

Manami nodded, "That's what the block of ice and lightning bolt were. I'm not very prone to using it unless I absolutely have to. Like with the masked ninja and the fire ball- there was no way for me to avoid it, so I shot the opposite element at it to buy me a little time to escape."

"Well, that answers that question." Tsunade remarked.

Manami nodded lightly.

"I can't say I'm overly surprised," Tsunade continued, "you were up against the best ninja in each of their respective fields."

Manami grimaced. That told her nothing of how she did in the test, increasing her worry of how well or poorly she performed.

"Now tell me," Manami was broken from her train of thought as Tsunade spoke again, "what do you know about chakra?"

Manami blinked. _Chakra?_

"Never heard of it."

Tsunade let out a deep sigh, "Just as we thought."

Manami furrowed her eyebrows. That didn't sound too good.

"While you are a formidable fighter and excel with a weapon, I'm afraid chakra usage is a must if you are going to work with us."

"Okay?" Manami replied warily. _Where is this going?_ she thought.

"Before you can take on real missions you'll need to at least learn the basics," Tsunade stepped aside to reveal a chair with the standard uniform Manami saw everywhere, complete with flak jacket and headband. Tsunade's face was serious, "If you agree to fight for Konoha and go on missions for us, you will be accepted into our shinobi ranks as a chuunin."

Manami blinked again. _Chuunin?_

Tsunade sighed again, "Do you want the job or not?"

Manami's eyes grew wide. _I- I'm in?!_

Manami nodded her head vigorously and bowed the best she could from her position on the cot. "Thank you so very much, Tsunade-sama!"

Tsunade waved her hand, "Enough. I have work to do. As of this moment, I Tsunade, Godaime Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, appoint you, Kiyomizu Manami, to the rank of Chuunin, effective immediately."

She bowed and Manami bowed in return.

"Everything is already being prepared," she continued, "An apartment will be ready for you by tomorrow and your job starts next week."

"My job?" Manami asked, a hint of curiosity creeping in.

Tsunade smirked as she made her way to the door. "The details are in the file tucked away in your uniform."

With that, Tsunade left without another word.

Manami stared at the door in silence. The nurse had begun to check her again but Manami was too distracted by her thoughts.

She made it. Even if it was by a hair's breath, she made it. _But what's this "job" all about?_ she wondered. Out of the corner of her eye, Manami caught a glimpse of a manila folder peeking out from between her uniform. _Guess we'll find out soon enough_.

FIN

 _Hope you guys liked it; sorry it's been so long. And just as a warning, it will probably be a small while again before I post the next chapter. Maybe another month or two... No longer than that though! Anyways, have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! ~KunoichiBlade_


	22. Neighbors

_Hello again everyone! It's been a while, but I'm back! I hope you all have been enjoying yourselves while I was away. ~KB_

 _Disclaimer: I don't own it... blah blah blah. (I'm getting tired of this)_

 _UPDATED VERSION - 3/31/16_

Chapter 22: Neighbors

Manami glanced at the little slip of paper for the thirteenth time that morning.

"Five-twenty, five-twenty-one…" she whispered mostly to herself. "It should be right- here!"

Manami stopped in front of a door labeled 524, the number of her new apartment. She slipped the paper into her pocket and pulled out the key provided by the landlord earlier that day. Adjusting the bags to one arm, Manami unlocked the door and pushed it open.

"Well, here it is!" she happily announced. The purple-haired ninja shoved past Manami into the apartment shouting "It's about time!"

Anko unceremoniously dropped the groceries on the floor of what appeared to be a living room and fell beside them.

"Please be careful with those!" Manami scolded, stepping around the female ninja. "I appreciate your assistance, but how am I supposed to cook with already mashed food?"

Anko shrugged, "Eh, not my problem. Besides, it all ends up in the same place."

Manami wrinkled her nose and shook her head. Adjusting the bags once again, Manami closed the door with her foot then made her way to the kitchen on the far side of the living room. It was small, especially with the dining table, but maneuverable. Back in the living room, Manami found Anko sprawled out on the provided couch. She smiled to herself and shook her head again; there weren't _that_ many groceries. Taking a look around, Manami spotted two additional single chairs and a couple of end-tables with lamps on each. Along the right wall was a linen closet and a hallway that she supposed led to the bedroom and bathroom.

Gathering the spilled food items, Manami picked up the bags again. _Okay, maybe there_ are _a few extra items_ , she thought carrying them to the kitchen.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

* _Whump!_ *

Manami let out a deep breath from the awkward position on the bed she landed in. It was surprisingly comfortable.

After Anko had helped her shop for groceries, Manami spent the day organizing her new apartment. It came with standard furniture and some basic kitchen appliances but needed a personal touch to it. The bedroom was down the hallway as Manami had guessed, along with a bathroom and storage closet.

Manami had put all the groceries away (no thanks to Anko, who later left from boredom) then set to rearranging the furniture. The couch was now shoved against the far left wall with an end-table on each side and the two single seats were placed on opposite walls. The hard-wood floor wasn't too bad, but if Manami earned enough money a carpet wouldn't hurt.

The bedroom wasn't too bad either but Manami struggled for a while trying to swap the placement of the desk and bed. Once those were successfully moved, Manami told herself she deserved a break and flopped on the bed, her head missing the pillow by about two feet.

* _KnockKnockKnock_ *

Manami's eyes snapped open. _Who on earth is that?_ she thought as she grabbed her headband and a kunai. Part of her new contract as a ninja of the village required her to wear the headband (in some form or fashion) at all times when on duty. The uniform was recommended, but not necessary. The kunai was for some sort of protection; Manami had handed in her weapons after the test but Anko "accidentally" left a few kunai in her apartment. Manami supposed it was because she didn't have any proper weaponry of her own yet. She would make sure to return them later.

Manami cautiously moved towards the door. She couldn't be too careful in this village; not after everyone she's met so far. Tucking the kunai behind her Manami called out, "Hello?"

"Hi!" came a muffled voice through the door.

"Who is it?"

"Oh, sorry. I'm your neighbor, Izumo-" the voice introduced.

"And I'm Kotetsu!" exclaimed a second one.

"We wanted to welcome you to the complex."

The names rung a small bell, but Manami couldn't pin where she'd heard them before. She decided it was safe enough, but kept the kunai in her front pocket. Manami opened the door with the chain lock on to see two familiar faces and blinked in surprise. "Wait- Aren't you two the gate guards?!"

The ninja with long, spiky, black hair and the white strip of cloth over his nose broke out into a huge grin. "You're that pretty girl that Genma chased through the gate! Manami, right?"

The ninja with the bandana and brown hair combed over his right eye elbowed his friend in the gut.

"We're tryin' to make a good first impression, not creep her out!" he hissed. He looked at Manami and gave her an apologetic smile. "Sorry about that. Are you the new girl that we saw?"

Manami nodded, fighting down laughter at their antics. "I am. It's nice to officially meet you this time."

They smiled at her and Manami felt awkward just standing there. "Would you like to come in?" she asked hesitantly.

Izumo and Kotetsu nodded eagerly. Closing the door, Manami unlocked the chain. She fingered the kunai in her pocket to make sure it was still there and opened the door. Izumo entered first, nodding his thanks, followed by Kotetsu who caught Manami off guard by shoving a gift bag in her arms.

"W-what's this?" she sputtered out.

"It's a welcome gift!" Kotetsu happily replied.

Izumo smiled in agreement, "I live next door in 525, but Kotetsu and I often hang out together. He lives up a floor in 619."

Manami ruffled around the tissue paper and pulled out a large bottle that read "Sake" on the label.

"I- uh, thank you!" she sputtered out. The two ninja beamed at her and Manami couldn't help but smile back. _How sweet of them,_ she thought.

Feeling awkward just standing there, again, Manami felt obligated to keep the conversation going.

"I- uh, you see," she started hesitantly, "since I'm new here, would you guys mind helping me out a bit?"

"Sure!" they chimed together and Manami couldn't help but laugh. She was already beginning to grow very fond of these two.

"Well," she began, "there's a lot about your village that I don't know and I'm supposed to help out one of the teachers at the academy. So to start, where's that at? Is it the building next to the Hokage's office?"

Izumo nodded his head. "That's the one. It's hard to miss will all the students running around."

"Too true!" Kotetsu continued, "In fact, a close friend of ours works there."

"Really? That's cool. I'd love to meet him one day." Manami commented.

"Oh! I know!" Kotetsu was practically bouncing in place. "We could all go out for dinner one night and give you a proper tour of the village!"

Izumo grinned from ear to ear, "That's a perfect idea! This way you get to meet some more people and more importantly a coworker at the academy!"

Manami hugged the sake bottle nervously and smiled sheepishly. "I don't think I can do that."

Kotetsu and Izumo gaped at her. "Why not?!" the asked in unison.

"I- I uh, you see…" Manami fumbled for words in embarrassment, "I don't really have any money. Even after I get paid for working this week, it will just go back to the rent on the apartment this month. Not to mention I need to start looking for weapons and-"

"Hang on," Izumo interrupted, causing Manami to flush in more embarrassment, "You think that we were gonna make you pay for your meal?"

Manami looked back and forth between the two and blinked. Slowly, she nodded her head in response.

"We wouldn't do that!" Kotetsu cried, "You're new here! It's our treat!"

Manami was stunned, _They're treating me? But I just moved here!_

A firm hand on her shoulder brought her out of her thoughts. Izumo smiled sweetly at her, "Seriously. Don't worry about it. That's what friends do for each other."

 _Friends…_ Manami looked at the pair and smiled. Kotetsu wrapped his arm around Manami and brought them all in for a group hug. She stiffened from the sudden contact at first, but eased into the hug gradually. Manami couldn't stop the small smile from growing even if she wanted to. _I have friends now_ , she thought hugging her new companions.

FIN

 _:) I know it isn't much, but I promise it's important! (sort of... lol) Until next time! ~KunoichiBlade_


	23. After Hours

_Oms, sorry I didn't get this out till a week after the update xP I meant to post it sooner, but I got a teensy bit distracted... Oops.  
Hope you all enjoy this chapter; it is considerably longer than anything I have posted so far- Part of the reason it took so long, but also probably one of my favorites so far. ~KB_

 _Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or KH (as usual)_

 _UPDATE: 5/3/16 - Added a little detail to the classroom setting_

Ch 23: After Hours

Manami took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

Kotetsu and Izumo had graciously walked her to the Academy on their way to the Hokage's office. After checking in at the main office, Manami had been lead down a couple of hallways to classroom A1-13.

Still standing there, Manami knocked for a second time, but louder.

There was a faint noise coming from the other side, so Manami knew someone was in there but she didn't want to just barge in. Knocking a third and final time, Manami called through the door, "I'm coming in."

Sliding the door open, Manami was met with a rowdy bunch of children. There were papers and pencils scattered around the desks and floors, a few kunai were stuck to the ceiling, and the kids ran up and down the tiers every which way. She was amazed to find two students soundly sleeping through the ruckus. _This is what I'm supposed to work with?!_ she thought worriedly.

Manami stood in the doorway, dumbfounded. She knew she was going to be working with children, but she was not expecting this. Manami imagined the students were going to be a bit rowdy, but this was a circus.

"SIT!" came a firm voice. Startled by the sudden command, Manami side-stepped out of the doorway. The entire class froze for a moment before they all scrambled for their seats.

"What have I told you about causing a ruckus in my classroom?!" the voice continued. Manami focused her attention on its source and found a young, tan male. He wore the standard uniform and his dark brown hair spiked out in a pony-tail above his headband. He walked into the classroom and plopped a stack of paper on his desk with an audible _*thud*_.

Manami couldn't see the teacher's face, but didn't dare to move from her spot for fear of getting in trouble. The teacher kept his attention focused on the class and commented, "I suppose now is as good of a time as any for that pop quiz!"

The entire class groaned at the mention of a pop quiz but were quickly hushed by their instructor. He rambled off instructions to them about getting out paper and writing an answer to something so foreign to Manami, she couldn't even comprehend what he was saying.

Satisfied that the class had calmed down and was presently preoccupied, the teacher turned his attention to Manami. She gave a small start at his abrupt turn, but relaxed a little when she noticed a warm smile on his face. Manami also noticed that he had a scar across the bridge of his nose, stretching across most of each cheekbone. _Interesting…_

"I'm so sorry you had to witness that your first day here," he said in a low voice, pulling Manami from her thoughts. His smile grew wider as he walk over to Manami, who was still beside the door.

"My name is Umino Iruka," he introduced, "you must be the new TA."

Manami nodded vigorously and bowed slightly, recalling the mannerisms of the village. "I am Kiyomizu Manami. I look forward to being your teacher's assistant, Umino-san."

Iruka let out a soft laugh, "You don't have to be so formal with me. Just call me sensei or Iruka-sensei like everyone else; none of this 'Umino' stuff."

Manami smiled in return. She found it surprisingly easy to relax in around him. Minus the initial outburst, Iruka had a calm presence about him. "Thank you, Iruka-sensei."

Taking a quick glance at the class, Iruka called out, "One minute!" Manami heard the scribbles of pencils and pens across paper as the students hurried to finish their responses. Iruka turned back to Manami and said in a more serious tone, "I've been informed about your situation… I'm so sorry for your loss."

Manami was confused for a moment before remembering, _That's right; the cover story about my supposed former village being burned down_. She turned her head away and grimaced, thinking of not being able to return to her _real_ home. Manami found it was the best way to put on a façade in front of people she encountered. "Things happen-" she choked out.

"I know," Iruka replied, "but that doesn't make the pain hurt any less." Manami could see the understanding in his brown eyes and gave him a weak smile.

"Now then," he continued, "I'm sorry I can't do more at the moment, but the copier jammed and that's why I was late. We'll talk more after class instead about what to do. In the meantime, just do your best to follow what I'm saying."

Manami nodded hesitantly. _How am I going to do this? I hardly knew what he was saying for the pop quiz!_

Iruka beamed at her and turned back to the class, "Time's up" he shouted, "pass your papers down to the front row for me to collect."

While Iruka performed his normal teacher duties, Manami decided to make herself useful and tidy up the room as quietly as possible. Paper planes/balls and pencils were still strewn everywhere from earlier. It would provide a good distraction from her worried mind and she supposed it was something a normal assistant would do.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

"Bye, Iruka-sensei!"

"See you tomorrow!"

"See ya, sensei!"

Manami grinned as the students bustled out of the classroom, shouting their good-byes back to Iruka. She was amazed at how much the class loved their teacher, but at the same time she wasn't too surprised. Iruka was very patient with his students and diligently answered their questions. While he was firm at times to keep them in line, he was also very interactive and did his best to keep his students engaged.

Manami had cleaned the mess pretty quickly and sat in a corner of the room to avoid getting in the way or becoming a distraction. In her corner, Manami did her best to pay attention to the lesson. Overall, it wasn't too hard to follow; it appeared to be some sort of history lesson.

Iruka talked about something dealing with two different clans (Manami forgot their names almost as soon as he mentioned them) and how they hated each other bad enough to cause wars. He went on to explain how they ended up combining to create the village but then one of them was suddenly wiped out overnight. Then, there was a time of peace before an attack from some sort of fox demon. Manami noted that that was the most recent big event and had taken place 14 years ago.

So yeah, Manami felt she kept up with the lesson pretty well. Minus the dates and names of, well, everything.

As the last student left with a final _"Goodbye!"_ , Manami adjusted the stack of papers she was organizing. To help ease Manami into her role, Iruka had given her the menial task at alphabetizing several stacks of papers. He told her, "It helps when I have to put them in the grade-book."

With a soft sigh of relief, Manami set the final stack of papers aside in her "done" pile.

"Nice job," came a voice from above her.

Looking up from her perch on the floor, Manami grinned at his approval, "Thank you, Iruka-sensei. It really wasn't that much."

"I still appreciate the effort," he chuckled, "I can't tell you how much time this will save me later on." He held out a hand and Manami accepted it graciously. As he pulled her up, Manami noted the underlying strength in Iruka's grip and the ease which he helped her up.

"Now, let's talk about what we're gonna do," Iruka said, guiding Manami to his desk.

"Alright," Manami replied, pulling a chair up to sit in.

Iruka rummaged around his desk for a moment before pulling a file out of a drawer. Nodding towards it, Iruka said, "I was given that not too long ago. It explained your situation and what it is we need to work on."

Manami tensed a bit, her thoughts running rampant. _They never told me what was good or what was bad with my performance. How much do I need to learn? Will it take long? Is it difficult? I still have to figure out a way to get home!_

She gave a brief nodded in acknowledgement, willing herself to calm down. "So what is it that I need to do?"

"Well," Iruka started, "the best thing to start out with is chakra."

"What is that exactly?" Manami asked. "Tsunade-sama mentioned it before and it seems to be the key to me working here."

Iruka grinned at her insight, "You would be correct. Chakra is essential to becoming a proper shinobi. While taijutsu focuses on physical attacks and does not necessarily need it, both ninjutsu and genjustu require chakra."

Analyzing Manami's confused face, Iruka pulled out some papers and continued his impromptu lesson. "Chakra is a form of life energy, you could say. It is divided into a physical form and a spiritual form." Iruka pointed to a figure on one of the papers depicting a person with what resembled a Yin and Yang symbol on his body, indicating the harmony of the energies. "When both forms are harnessed in tandem, various jutsus can be performed. Physical energy is taken from cells in your body while spiritual energy comes from your mind's consciousness."

"But what are jutsus?" Manami interrupted eagerly.

"Jutsus are a skill or technique that require chakra," Iruka continued. "They are used by a concentrated amount of chakra released by a combination of hands seals. For example…" Iruka stood up from his seat and faced Manami directly. Her eyes were drawn to Iruka's hands as they flew through different signs, too fast for Manami to catch. With a puff of smoke, there now stood two Iruka's in front of Manami.

Manami jumped from her chair in surprise. "There are two of you!" she exclaimed, pointing her finger back and forth between the two sensei's. The men before her laughed together, creating an echo-y effect due to it being the same laugh.

"That's right," said the Iruka on the left.

"This particular jutsu creates a shadow clone of the user," continued the Iruka on the right.

Manami repeatedly shifted her gaze between the two Iruka's. _So is that how- No, could it really be that simple?_ Manami silently wondered.

Manami moved forward a bit and hesitantly reached out. Both Iruka's nodded at her, knowing what she was silently asking and held out their hands. Manami brushed her fingers lightly over one of the hands. It felt solid enough; she proceeded to the next one and it felt the same. Furrowing her brows in frustration, Manami continued to analyze the two.

"I can't figure out which one of you is the real one," she sighed in defeat.

"It's not uncommon," the right Iruka stated.

"In fact, that's why it's so useful," continued the left one.

The Iruka on the right explained to Manami, "The tell-tale sign is the shadow."

Manami's eyes widened as she thought, _How did I miss something so simple?!_ Sure enough, when Manami glanced down she noticed that only the Iruka on the right had a shadow cast by the lights on the ceiling.

The right Iruka held up his first two fingers and said, "Kai." Another _*poof*_ and the second Iruka was gone.

Manami slumped back in her chair, dragging a hand down her face in frustration. "Ugh, I have no idea how I'm going to learn all of this," she mumbled.

A small frown quirked on Iruka's lips briefly before he schooled his features. "But that's why we're doing this," he assured Manami, sitting down. "Lucky for you, chakra is the next unit I'm teaching. You'll be able to listen in on the lesson during the day and afterwards we'll work one-on-one, honing your skills at a faster rate than the students."

"Are you sure that won't be too stressful on you?" Manami asked, worried about the inconvenience she might cause.

Iruka shook his head, "Not at all. Tsunade-sama removed me from the mission desk work for a while so I could focus on teaching you."

"You work somewhere else as well?!" Manami all but shouted.

A feint red tint brushed Iruka's cheeks and he scratched the edge of his scar. "Well, yeah. Teaching is great but it doesn't always have the best pay. I don't go on too many missions like most other ninja, so I work on assigning the missions instead."

Manami froze in place, _He works another job?!_ Standing up abruptly, Manami bowed deeply saying, "Thank you so much for taking me in, Iruka-sensei! I apologize for disrupting your schedule and causing you more work than is necessary! I promise to work hard so that you may return to your normal life! Again, I apolo-"

"Manami!" Iruka shouted, stopping her mid-rant. Manami stood upright at his tone of voice.

"It's alright," he continued gently. Manami visibly relaxed as he continued, "It really doesn't bother me. I'm getting paid the same and truthfully, I'd rather do what I enjoy most over sitting behind a desk yelling at incompetent ninja all afternoon."

Noticing the confused look on Manami's face, Iruka elaborated, "I might have a reputation for a short temper and yelling at others who don't complete their mission forms correctly."

"Ah, I see," Manami replied quietly, noting to _never_ get on Iruka's bad side.

"Anyways," Iruka glanced at the clock, noting the time. "It's getting late; we'll continue this tomorrow. From now on, we'll stay after class every day for your lessons."

Manami smiled warmly, "Thank you, Iruka-sensei. I truly can't express my gratitude that you would do this for me."

Iruka laughed, following Manami out the door. "Think nothing of it. It's my job!"

As the two walked out of the building, Manami looked left and right before abruptly stopping.

"Is there something wrong, Manami-san?" Iruka asked, turning back after a few feet.

A faint blush dusted Manami's cheeks, "Uh- yeah. There is actually."

Iruka nodded his head and faced her directly, indicating for her to continue.

Manami's blush deepened, "You wouldn't happen to know the way to the chuunin apartment complex would you?"

Iruka laughed light heartedly, "Sure thing! I actually live not too far from there. Come on, I'll show you the way."

Manami felt her shoulders relax, not realizing how much she tensed up over a simple question. With a few quick strides, Manami had caught up to Iruka and fell in step with him as he walked her home.

FIN

 _So what did you think? Do you like the longer chapter compared to what I have been writing? Or does it even matter? Let me know what you think! ~KunoichiBlade_


	24. Progress and Pass-Time

_Hello everyone! I hope you all are doing well and enjoy the chapter! ~KB_

 _Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, as usual._

Ch 24: Progress and Pass-time

"Why am I doing this again?"

"Like you don't already know."

Manami _did_ in fact know, but that didn't make the task at hand any less ridiculous. Manami was presently sitting on the floor with her head tilted back just enough to balance a single leaf in the middle of her forehead. The goal was to focus her energy on the point in the center of the leaf as best as possible. That was it. _This is so stupid_ , Manami thought begrudgingly as she tried not to go cross-eyed from attempting to look at the leaf.

The school week had gone by in a flash; the students took their history test the day after Manami's first appearance and Iruka started the unit on chakra for the remainder of the week. When classes were done, Iruka had provided a plethora of materials for Manami to accelerate her studies. Diagrams of chakra path flows, the history of chakra, various beginner-level jutsus to start learning, and most importantly: to start memorizing the hand seals. While the class was still learning the basics of chakra flow, Manami was already half-way through the unit.

During class that Friday, Iruka had the students line up in rows and placed a leaf on their foreheads, just like the predicament Manami was currently in. They were required to put all of their focus and energy into concentrating on the center of the leaf where it touched their skin. This practice was where the leaf symbol on the hitai-ate came from. While this was a challenge for the hyper-active kids that could hardly go a minute without fidgeting, Manami felt the task was simple enough for her and complied to participating with the students.

Now it was just annoying. The students had long-gone home and Manami had been in the same position for over three and a half hours. _How much longer do I have to sit through this?!_ she internally complained. Iruka had simply sat at his desk, grading the tests from Tuesday and preparing the lesson plans for the upcoming week.

"You're doing well," Iruka praised, marking one of the papers.

"There is nothing _to do_ ," Manami remarked irritably, mumbling to herself, "I can't feel my neck anymore."

Iruka chuckled at Manami's growing impatience. "Just a little longer."

A peaceful silence settled between the two and Manami decided to use this opportunity to review the various hand seals*. _Ne, Ushi, Tora, U, Tatsu, Mi, Uma, Hitsuji, Saru, Tori, Inu, I; Ne, Ushi, Tora, U, Tatsu-_ Manami's hands flew through the signs matching their respective names.

"Now do them backwards."

Manami gave a small start at Iruka's command. She didn't realize she had started murmuring the signs aloud. A faint blush dusted her cheeks in embarrassment, but followed his instructions.

" _I, Inu, Tori, Saru, Hitsuji_ -" she began, flashing through the respective signs again. After her third repeat of the reversed hand seal list Iruka commented, "I think you have it down by now. You may stop. And that includes the exercise from earlier."

Manami didn't bother to hide the sigh of relief as she removed the leaf from her forehead.

"What next?" she asked, craning her neck forward to stretch the stiff muscles.

Iruka glanced at the clock and frowned. "Unfortunately I have to leave early, so we only have about 45 minutes. How about you start trying to perform jutsus?

Manami looked at him quizzically. They had been working together after school ended every day for hours on end; it was odd for Iruka to suddenly cut their sessions short. "If you don't mind my asking, why are you leaving so early? Is there something wrong?"

Iruka chuckled and shook his head. "There's nothing wrong," he replied, "I just already had some plans for the evening."

Manami nodded and opted to not press any further for fear of being rude. Getting to her feet, she asked, "Which jutsu shall I start with?"

"The Clone Technique, or _Bunshin no Jutsu_ , is the most basic technique." Iruka responded, pushing his papers aside. "We use to determine if the students will graduate from the Academy."

He stood up and walked in front of his desk. Crouching down, Iruka drew a small "X" on the floor a couple meters in front of Manami.

Retreating to his desk, Iruka continued, "Remember to focus your mind on what you want to gather the spiritual energy and the physical energy will pull from your body's stamina. Focus on the flow of the energy towards the "X" mark the same way you focused your energy on the leaf. Finally, release the energy with this seal sequence: _Hitsuji, Mi, Tora_."

" _Hitsuji, Mi, Tora,_ " Manami repeated to herself. Taking a deep breath, Manami closed her eyes and recalled the various papers she had studied over the past week. She pictured a copy of herself in front of her, standing on the "X", just as the books suggested. _Hitsuji, Mi, Tora_ , she mentally chanted.

Manami's brows furrowed with concentration and she felt a small tug at her core. _Hitsuji, Mi, Tora_. Manami zeroed in on that tug and flashed through the hand seals chanting, " _Hitsuji, Mi, Tora!_ "

…

 _Did it work?_ Manami questioned. Peeking one eye open, Manami saw the bare floorboards of the classroom, the small white "X" a stark contrast to the brown wood. Her shoulders sunk in disbelief before they tensed again with determination.

" _Hitsuji, Mi, Tora!"_ she cried, flipping through the seals again.

…

 _Nothing_.

Frowning, Manami tried the jutsu repeatedly, tugging on that coil harder and harder, panting after the sixth attempt.

"Why- * _huff_ * why isn't it working?" she asked Iruka between breaths, leaning against the desk for support. "And why am I so _tired_?!"

"It's not that unusual," he replied calmly. "Students spend over half a year practicing, so it's no surprise nothing happened. Actually, I would've been surprised if it worked at all this time." Glancing at the clock, Iruka began packing as he continued his explanation. "The reason you're so tired is because you repeatedly tried the jutsu without resting. Your body and mind aren't used to the strain caused by chakra control yet. Which is also the reason you can't harness it. It will just take some practice."

Manami nodded wearily and Iruka shot her a smile. "Get some rest and practice intermittently this weekend. Don't over exert yourself, Manami-chan."

Pushing up off the desk, Manami nodded again and followed Iruka out the classroom. "Understood, Iruka-sensei. I'll see you Monday then?'

"See you Monday," Iruka confirmed. With a wave good-bye, Iruka rushed off to his apartment. Manami trudged at a slower pace to her own respective complex, the idea of a nap dancing around her thoughts.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

* _knock-knock-knock_ *

A soft groan was given in response as Manami rolled over on the couch.

* _knock-knock-knock-knock_ * "Manamiiiiii-chaaaaan!" a voice called through the door.

"Go away!" Manami yelled to the caller. _I just wanna sleep_.

"Don't tell me you forgot our date!"

A soft * _thump_ * echoed through the door and Manami thought she heard complaining.

"Okay, okay- not a date! But we're still going out! Remember?!"

"Yeah, yeah. Gimme a sec you two," Manami grumbled, sitting up. With a slight yawn, Manami shrugged on her blue vest and opened the door.

"So, you ready?!" Kotetsu exclaimed, almost falling through the door.

Izumo grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back out of the doorway. "Sorry about that; he's just a bit excited. We can wait a bit if you're not ready yet."

Manami gave a small chuckle. "I'm good," she replied, locking the door behind her. "So where are we headed?"

The two chuunin grinned at her. "It's a surprise," Izumo replied. "Come on, we need to make it before our friend does."

 _Oh yeah, we're supposed to meet with someone else_ , Manami thought as they left the complex. _Wonder who it is?_

The trio walk steadily through the village, chatting along the way until they stopped in front of a small shop labeled "Ichiraku's Ramen".

"Hope you don't mind," Izumo began, ducking under the small curtain. He straddled a seat at the bar counter continuing, "This is one of our usual meet-up spots."

"It's perfectly fine with me," Manami answered, sitting beside him. She eyed the menu above the counter. "Beats having to cook after this afternoon."

Kotetsu spun around in the chair on the other side of Izumo and questioned, "What do you mean by that?"

Manami scratched in front of her ear, leaning on the counter. "I- um, well- I was," Manami fumbled around with her hands trying to find the word she was looking for, when-

"Hey!" Kotetsu exclaimed, hopping up from his stool. "Iruka's here!"

Manami whipped her head around. _Surely it can't be-_

It was.

"Iruka-sensei is your _friend_?!" she exclaimed, turning back to Izumo. "The friend you wanted to introduce me too?"

Izumo looked at her quizzically. "You know Iruka?"

Manami glanced back and forth between Izumo and where Kotetsu had went to greet Iruka. "You could say that," she replied. "Actually, he's the teacher that I work with at the academy."

Manami swore she heard Izumo's jaw clank against the counter from how hard it dropped open.

"So it is you!"

Manami whipped her head around and her blue eyes clashed with warm brown ones. She held his gaze, still in mild shock of the whole situation.

"When I heard about a newcomer my friends insist I meet," Iruka continued, stepping into the shop, "it never crossed my mind that it would me my very own assistant. How are you feeling?"

"Better," Manami replied, finally getting over the initial shock. "Managed a small nap before these two came rapping at my door."

Iruka gave a small chuckle. "Yeah, that sounds like these two goofs," he said, nudging Kotetsu with his elbow. The two "goofs" mentioned shot Iruka dirty looks. Gesturing to the seat beside Manami, he asked, "May I?"

"Of course," she replied with a smile.

The evening passed by smoothly. The four chatted eagerly over their ramen bowls, excitedly sharing stories (primarily told by Kotetsu and Izumo). Manami found it easy to relax in their company and thought Iruka brought a calming presence to the two's upbeat nature. By the time they stepped out, the sun had set before the horizon and the surrounding shops had their lights on.

"So let me get this straight," Manami started, "You two work with Iruka at the Mission Desk sometimes but mainly work running errands for the Hokage, right?"

The friends in question nodded eagerly.

"And you work as Iruka's new T.A.?" Izumo asked back, shoving his hands in his pocket.

"She sure is," Iruka replied. "And a good one at that." Manami blushed at the compliment, thankful for the cover of night. The quartet had fallen into a walking box of sorts, Izumo and Manami in the front with Kotetsu and Iruka following in the back. _It's a small world after all_ , she mused to herself. _Who knew that Kotetsu and Izumo knew Iruka?_

A peaceful silence settled over the group as they made their way through the village, the waning moon illuminated their path as they continued to walk. They looked at various shops and made an occasional comment as they passed by.

Manami yawned and felt her eyes began to droop.

"Perhaps it's time to call it a night," Iruka chimed from the back. "I have to be at the Mission Desk first thing tomorrow morning."

"Really?!" Kotetsu practically shouted. "The night it still young! We could go-"

"We could go home," Izumo interrupted, sending Kotetsu a pointed look. "We've already kept Manami and Iruka out far too long. Right, Manami-chan?"

"Mmm?" Manami glanced up from the road, "It's no problem at a _aahhh_ —" her sentence ended in another yawn. They all chuckled and Manami shook her head to clear it. "I am so sorry. I meant to say 'at all', but I guess that's not the case."

"Hahaha, well I'll take my leave then," Iruka announced. He started to take a separate path to his apartment and turned around to wave and called back, "I'll see you guys around!"

"See you around!" Kotetsu and Izumo call back.

"See you Monday!" Manami replied.

Iruka gave a final wave and continued along his new path. The remaining three walked to their apartment complex in a comfortable silence, saying good-night as they reached their rooms.

Manami kicked off her boots and shed her vest and hitai-ate, sighing with relief as they came off. _What a day_ , she thought, getting ready for bed. _But it was fun. I hope we get to do that again._

FIN

 _Lemme know what you think! (I really can't tell you how much feedback helps)  
_ * _Here is a link to the hand seals_ : wiki/Hand_seals _~KunoichiBlade_


	25. Liquid Fire

_Hello everyone, hope you've been well ~KB_

 _Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or KH  
_ _[this will also be the last time I put a disclaimer, I think you get the idea by now ;) ]_

Ch 25: Liquid Fire

 _The clash of blades filled the night sky._

 _She flew through the sweeping motions she'd practiced for years, her master meeting each one with ease._

 _Both were relentless in their attacks, neither giving nor gaining ground. A particularly tough blow had Manami skirting backwards a few yards._

 _Before she could charge forward, a long black tendril snaked from the ground and seized her wrist, immobilizing her use of the Keyblade. Manami's eyes widened and snapped towards her master. His body lay lifeless on the cobblestone, surrounded by swirls of Darkness._

 _Not again._

 _Manami yanked at the tendril, she had to help him but another black tendril wound around her leg. Glancing back, she saw a hoard of Heartless emerge, separating her from her master. Shadows and Neoshadows rose from the ground while Possessors, gaseous looking creatures of Darkness, hovered dangerously close._

 _A raging cry tore from her lips as Manami struggled to be free. She twirled the Keyblade around in her hand and slashed at the tendril grasping her wrist. It dissolved into thin air and Manami made quick work of the other one around her leg._

 _Dashing forward, Manami lifted her Keyblade to strike the nearest Heartless but was abruptly knocked back off her feet. She flew through the air and landed harshly against stone. Shaking her head clear, Manami stood up to see what hit her and was met with an Invisible facing her._

 _The Invisible's purple and blue horns were menacing and the cobalt tinged blade did nothing to help. Yellow eyes stared her down, daring her to attack. The pointed claws on its feet and curved, bladed tail scratched against the cobblestone, regardless of the small wings keeping it afloat. Manami griped the hilt of her Kingdom Key tightly and charged._

 _She lunged at the black creature and her blade sliced across it front. Seemingly unaffected by the attack, the Invisible pulled its weapon back and slashed at Manami. She avoided the blow and attacked again, swinging overhead this time. As the Keyblade came down to meet its mark, it shattered into tiny fragments of light._

 _Manami stumbled from the sudden change and was knocked aside again by the Heartless. Lifting her head from the concrete, Manami realized she could no longer see her master._

 _"_ _No," she muttered, trying to lift herself off the ground. A glance to the right told her that the Invisible was approaching quickly._

 _Mustering up her strength, Manami willed her Keyblade to reappear. Her eyes widened when nothing happened._

 _"_ _No." she whispered breathlessly. She tried to summon the Keyblade again but her hand remained empty._

 _A shadow fell over her and Manami looked up to see the Invisible baring its blade. Manami pushed up but fell back over instantly, gripping her arm that seared with pain. She tried to locate her master, only seeing Heartless around the courtyard._

 _"_ _Master Eraqus!" she cried in distress. A string of No's followed her plea. Everything was a mass of black from all the Heartless. This couldn't be happening._

 _A shift next to her caught her attention. The Invisible had its arm raised, blade ready to strike._

 _Her eyes widened. "No."_

 _Light glinted off the blade as it came down._

 _"_ _NO!"_

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Manami lurched forward in her bed with a shout, panting. Blinking in confusion, Manami regarded the darkened space around her. She was in her room. It took a moment for her to realize how badly she was shaking.

* _knock-knock_ *

Manami jumped at the soft sound behind her. She whipped around to the head of her bed but couldn't find the source.

"Manami?" called a soft voice through the wall.

Inching closer, Manami asked back, "Hello?"

"It's me, Izumo _._ "

"Oh!" Manami replied in shock, "uh, hi?"

"I heard you shout, wanted to make sure you were okay."

Manami bowed her head.

No. No, she was most certainly not okay.

"I'm fine," she replied weakly. "Just a bad dream."

There was a small pause, "Alright. Just let me know if you need anything _._ "

Manami nodded before she realized he couldn't see. "I- I will. Thank you."

"Night _._ "

"Night."

Manami sat there for a moment before lying back down. She stared at the ceiling, too shaken to go back to sleep so quickly.

She had to get back.

In all of the rush to blend into the ninja community, Manami almost forgotten that she was supposed to be looking for ways to repair the Gummi Ship. _Not that I can do much without the Keyblade,_ she thought. _At least there aren't any Heartless in this world… so far._

And if there were?

 _I have to get back. Soon._

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

 _Inhale. Exhale._ Manami opened her eyes and focused on the little white "X" chalked on the floor. Controlling her breathing, Manami flipped through the hand seals once again.

 _"_ _Bushin no jutsu!"_

* _Poof_ *

Nothing. Absolutely nothing. It was Wednesday, five days after her first attempt at the Clone Technique and Manami had yet to produce a duplicate of herself. She was beginning to get frustrated at the lack of progression.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Iruka asked.

"I'm fine," Manami replied sharply, "like I said earlier, it's nothing."

Manami ignored his frown and tried the jutsu again. She growled when the result didn't change and slumped to the floor in exhaustion.

Iruka set the papers he was grading aside and rummaged through a drawer. "Let's try something else." he stated.

Manami grunted in affirmation and stood back up. Tired didn't even begin to describe how she felt. After the dream, Manami had continuously tossed and turned throughout the night. Now she was additionally drained from the various attempts at the Clone Technique.

"Take this," Iruka instructed, handing Manami a small vile. It was clear with a goldish looking liquid in it.

Manami eyed the bottle warily. It's not like she didn't trust Iruka, but there was something about the liquid that made her cautious. "What is it?" she asked.

"It'll help open your chakra pathways," he replied, motioning to the bottle. "I'm thinking that your chakra pathways are blocked because they've never been used before and trying to do jutsu caused excess strain on your body."

"I see." That made sense; Manami uncapped the vile and sniffed. A pungent odor flooded her nostrils and caused Manami to recap it as she fell into a coughing fit. Recovering, Manami commented, "That's some strong stuff, huh?"

"Unfortunately," Iruka replied, leaning against his desk. "I recommend you knock it back like a shot glass. Sends it straight back without bothering your senses too much."

Manami nodded in agreement and took a deep breath to brace herself. Uncapping the vile, she tossed her head back and swallowed it in one go. She fell into another fit of coughing, this time much worse. The stuff _burned_. Her throat felt like she just swallowed a flaming sword. _I wonder if this is how dragons feel after they breathe fire?_ she thought briefly.

" _Water_ ," she croaked out before coughing again.

If Iruka responded, Manami didn't hear it. Instead, she found herself doubling over and kneeling on the ground. It felt like a volcano just erupted in her stomach; intense heat curled and pooled in her core.

Then it moved.

Manami cried out in pain as the internal flame began to slowly spread throughout her body. Liquid fire was seeping from her core alongside her veins, following the flow and igniting her insides. Manami screwed her eyes shut and fell over on her side, no longer able to hold herself up from the pain.

She writhed in place on the floor, screaming her throat raw as it continued to spread. She could feel every path it took: up and down her limbs, wrapping around each organ, from the tip of her toes to the top of her head.

As the heat spread around her throat, Manami began to panic when it felt like she was being suffocated. She scratched at her collar, trying to pull it away so she could breathe. Something cool touched her wrist and Manami grasped on to it. It was a small lifeline as she continued to thrash about.

The intense heat engulfed her completely for what felt like hours before it finally began to recede. It retracted to her core, leaving a numb feeling as the pain began to ebb away. Manami fell limp against the floor as the heat finally dissipated, her breathing labored as a result.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Iruka's nails pierced into the palm of his hand. He had half a mind to just walk out of the classroom.

But he couldn't. _I can't just leave her here_ , he thought solemnly.

He walked behind his desk to put some space between them but walked back in front almost immediately. It was hard for him to see his pupil- no, Manami was more than that to him by now- his friend, put through so much pain. A pang of guilt shot through him at the fact that he was the cause for her suffering.

Manami was special, he could feel it. It was that same impression he got with some of his students- stores of unlocked potential just waiting to be discovered. There was so much more to her than what meets the eye. He knew that if Manami could master chakra control she would be promoted to jounin in no time.

Iruka tried to distract himself by organizing his desk. The stories he heard from previous takers of the Chakra Cleanser weren't pleasant ones. They mentioned the pain caused from the serum cleaning the chakra pathways, the feeling of liquid fire moving through the body. _I just hope she doesn't hate me for doing this to her_.

His heart clenched as pained screams echoed around the room and he rushed backed to Manami's side.

She was clawing at her neck and Iruka was afraid Manami was going to injure herself. He knelt beside her and touched her wrist gently. She latched onto his hand and Iruka thought he was going to lose circulation from the firm grip. Iruka grit his teeth and pushed through it. Manami was going through a lot worse and he wanted to help as much as he could, even if was only being able to hold her hand.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered softly.

After a little while, Manami calmed down enough for Iruka to wriggle his wrist out of her grasp. He walked back to his desk reluctantly, not wanting to leave her side even for a moment.

Grabbing the water bottle he prepared, Iruka poured a little bit onto a spare (unused) cleaning rag and crouched beside Manami.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

"Here."

Manami winced at the soft voice, but cracked an eye. She took the rag Iruka offered, hands too shaky to accept the water. She sighed as she wiped the rag across her face and neck; it was so cool against her burning skin, _Sweet relief_.

"I'm sorry you had to experience that," Iruka continued. He shifted to sit next to Manami, who continued to catch her breath. "I was hoping you'd be able to figure it out, but after nearly a week I saw how frustrated you were getting. I've never tried it myself, but I've seen it used before. Sometimes someone's chakra would get poisoned or blocked in combat and the nurses can't always clear the pathways. They developed this serum to help instead."

Manami listened silently from her position on the floor, grateful that Iruka had come to her and wasn't expecting a reply. Sitting up slightly, Manami took a sip from the water bottle. The cold liquid was refreshing and Manami felt much better from it. As she continued to sip, she realized that Iruka had gone silent.

Manami threw him a questioning glance, throat still too raw to speak. Iruka frowned and lowered his head, muttering softly, "I really am sorry. I didn't want to put you through this, especially after last night."

Manami choked on her water. _How does he know about last night?!_ she thought frantically.

"Izumo told me," Iruka replied. Manami threw him another glance and Iruka chuckled. "It was written all over your face."

Manami sighed and sat up completely as Iruka continued. "He told me that he heard you scream on our way to work this morning. I didn't want to pressure you into telling me, but I could definitely tell something was up. I want you to know that the three of us will always be here for you- Kotetsu, Izumo, and me."

Tears gathered at the corner of Manami's eyes as she stared at him in disbelief. Here she was completely new to the village but these people were so welcoming to her. When she was in the Land of Departure, she didn't have any friends from always training and Master Eraqus was the only one that treated her like a person. The servants were always professional in their work and Master Xehanort- Manami shuddered. She didn't want to think about him.

"Thank you," she rasped out. Her voice sounded like a cat used it for a scratching post but she didn't care. Manami couldn't thank Iruka enough for all he was doing for her.

Iruka smiled at her and stood up, holding out a hand for Manami. She took it, almost falling flat on her face as Iruka hoisted her up. He held her steady for a moment then commented, "Come on, let's get you home."

"What about-" Manami began to ask.

"No," Iruka interrupted firmly. He flung her arm around his shoulder and held her up by the waist. "You've had enough for today. Now, you are going to go home and rest. We can always continue later."

Manami nodded her head in submission. She didn't have the strength to argue as Iruka guided her home.

FIN

 _Hope you enjoyed! Let me know you're thoughts and/or concerns, they're greatly appreciated! ~KunoichiBlade_


	26. A Wielder and Her Weapon

_And I'm back! (again, lol) Sorry for the wait. Things picked up a bit unexpectedly, but I'm here! Hope you all are doing well; enjoy! ~KB_

Ch 26: A Wielder and Her Weapon

Leaning against the counter in the lounge room, Iruka sipped his morning coffee.

"How is she?" he asked above the rim of his cup.

Izumo look up from the newspaper he was reading. "She seems to be doing fine," he replied. "The only thing I noticed was that her chakra signature is significantly stronger than what it had been. It did flare out a couple of times but nothing to cause concern."

Iruka hummed in response. After he took Manami home a couple of days ago he asked Izumo to keep an eye on her in case anything went wrong. While nothing had been reported in previous cases, Iruka didn't want to take any chances. The Chakra Cleanser was meant to _cleanse_ the pathways, not open them. _Probably why it was so painful for her_ , he thought.

Since he had to get the serum from Tsunade-sama, she was aware of the situation and approved a day off for Izumo so Iruka could continue to teach. Naturally, Kotetsu stopped by when Izumo didn't show up for work and volunteered to monitor Manami so that he could take an afternoon shift.

Iruka swirled the coffee around. Now that she could use chakra, it was only a matter of time before Manami would be sent on a mission.

He frowned.

While he had no doubt that Manami could fight, Iruka was worried that it still wouldn't be enough. There were some powerful shinobi out there and Manami was at a significant disadvantage without the use of chakra.

"Stop fretting and come on."

Iruka looked up in surprise. He didn't realize his thoughts worked their way onto his face.

Izumo folded up the newspaper and tossed it on the table. He stood and jerked his head toward the door, "We'll be late if you don't hurry. There's nothing more you can do; Kotetsu's watching her."

Iruka tossed back the last of his coffee and nodded, "You're right. Let's go."

As they walked out of the lounge, Iruka couldn't help but wonder what Manami would be like with chakra.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Adrenaline buzzed through her veins as Manami ran through the village. She had woken up in the middle of the afternoon and rushed out the door when she realized she was late for work.

Sprinting down the streets, Manami felt strangely... free. It was like some unknown weight was suddenly lifted. There was a new sense of energy in her that she couldn't wait to explore. Her legs pushed her faster, farther than ever before.

Arriving at the Academy, Manami pulled at the main entrance door. _That's funny_ , she thought furrowing her brows, _it's locked_. Looking around, Manami found it to be eerily quiet.

After a moment, her eyes widened in shock. _It couldn't be- could it?_ Manami turned on her heels and bolted to the building across the street.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

"I'm sorry but I can't accept your report unless it's properly filled out."

The ninja snarled at Iruka as he handed back the papers.

"Don't look at me like that;" he chided, voice firm in command, "you know I can't accept it. Now go back and do it again. Properly this time."

Iruka watched as the ninja stomped out of the Mission Room and sighed. _I swear_ , he thought, _these shinobi are worse than the Academy students sometimes_...

"Next!" he called.

Another ninja stepped forward and handed over his mission report. Looking through the sheets, Iruka scanned each of the sections for any discrepancies. Nodding his approval, Iruka stamped the form and placed it in the "To Be Filed" bin under the desk. "Thank you for your hard work," he said with a smile. The ninja gave a small sigh of relief and gave a small wave before leaving.

"Next!"

Iruka felt a small surge of chakra before he had a chance to see who had walked up next.

"Hi Iruka-sensei!"

Iruka blinked. "Manami?" he said, before it fully registered. When it did, he stood up abruptly, almost knocking over his chair. "Manami! What are you doing here? You should be at home resting."

Manami grinned and waved her hand as if to placate him. "I feel fine," she remarked. "Honestly, I do. I figured you'd be here since the Academy was locked."

"But what are you doing in line for a mission?" Iruka asked, quirking a brow.

Manami tucked a nonexistent hair behind her ear and glanced to the side. "Well, when I walked in I saw you sitting at the desk, but then I noticed the long line of people and I thought it would be rude to come straight up to you and cut all of them." She paused for a moment and looked back up. "So I waited my turn."

 _She is_ way _too nice to be a ninja_. The thought popped in Iruka's head before she even finished. He shook his head clear of thoughts and sat back behind the desk. "What can I help you with? Class is out, so you don't have to worry about practice today."

Manami fidgeted for a moment and said, "Yeah, but I want to make up for the time that I was- err, recovering. I have a _really_ good feeling about it this time."

Iruka narrowed his eyes at her; he was still a bit skeptical. While she appeared fine, even energetic, he didn't know the internal strain that might still be lingering. A person doesn't just jump back into action that quick after being in recovery for two days.

"Alright," he said, pulling out a blank sheet of paper, "but on one condition."

Manami's eyes were focused on him, giving him her complete attention.

"No jutsus till I get there. We don't know what will happen and you need to be supervised until we find out." Iruka saw the internal struggle on Manami's face where she wanted to argue, but she held her tongue. He smiled and continued to write on the paper, "You said you wanted a weapon for missions, right?"

"Yes, please," Manami replied instantly. Iruka saw her face fall for a minute before she caught herself. He chose to dismiss it for now.

Finishing out the instructions, Iruka folded the paper in half and handed it to Manami. "Go to the address at the top for a weapon. Then go to Training Field 11 and follow the instructions I wrote down. And remember, _no jutsus_."

Manami beamed at him and Iruka felt his heart stutter. For some strange reason or another.

"Thank you so much!" she chimed. "I'll see you later then!"

Manami was out the door in no time with a quick wave of her hand. Iruka's hand was still stuck mid-wave, eyes lingering on the door, as the next person in line walked up.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

* _ChingChing_ *

Manami walked into the shop and couldn't help it as her eyes danced around the room. The place was lined from floor to ceiling with various weapons and display cases lined up neatly with even more. The afternoon sun peaked in through the front window, glancing off the metal, giving it a warm glow.

An elderly man hobbled from a back room, wiping his hands on a rag. He grinned at Manami and worked his way towards the front. "How may I help you, young lady?" he asked.

"I'm here to find a blade that works for me," she replied, casting another glance around the room. "A friend recommended the shop to me."

The old man nodded his head and motioned towards the far wall, "Let me see what you can do and I'll get you fixed up right away!"

He led Manami back by the doorway he came in and pulled down what appeared to be a bunch of bamboo sticks tied together in a makeshift sword. He passed it to Manami explaining, "Hold this bokken like you would a normal weapon. Go through each of the basic stances as if you were fighting."

Manami did as the man instructed, flowing through each of the motions with practiced ease. She felt the shop owner keep a trained eye on her, catching every detail of her forms. The wooden blade, a bokken he called it, felt surprisingly natural in her hand. It's wasn't curved like the katanas but had a realistic weight to it. Manami closed her eyes and pictured it was her Kingdom Key again…

The balance of the blade, where she could shift its position around with ease.

The length of the blade, not too long to tilt out of her grasp but enough to knock an enemy off their feet.

The _feel_ of the blade, as if it were her own-

"Are you alright my dear?" the shop keeper asked, startling Manami out of her nostalgia. _It must have shown on my face again,_ she thought, _I really need to work on that_. She responded with a simple nod, schooling her features.

Manami continue from the pose she was in, blade extended out at an angle, ready to be brought back in. She pulled it beside her face then swept outward. Following the motion, she brought the blade over around her head in what would be a fatal blow.

Finishing her stances, Manami was reluctant to hand the bokken back to the shop keeper. It reminded her so much of home, it was comforting in this foreign world.

The shop owner said nothing, but took the bokken gently from Manami's grasp. A warm smile tugged at his lips as he placed it back on its rack. The man scanned the walls before stepping away. Manami moved to follow but he held his hand out, motioning for her to stay put.

Manami watched as he stopped by several racks, picking up different blades and shaking his head at each one. Finally, the shop keeper stopped in front of a display case. He stared at its contents for a moment then looked back at Manami. She couldn't see what was in the case but the calculating look on the man's face had her curious. He fished out a set of keys from his pocket and slid back the glass. Leaning over, he pulled out what appeared to be a normal katana and sheath.

As he shuffled his way back, Manami noted the gold embellished along the sheath and handle ribbons. Even the hand guard was gold; a stark contrast to the base black coloring. The old man held the katana in both hands outstretched to Manami; she noted the elegant floral designs as she took it from him.

The hilt felt secure in her grasp, hand molding around the ribbon. Glancing up, Manami saw the shop keeper grin and nod his approval. Grasping the sheath, Manami pulled the blade out.

It was perfect.

Well, it wasn't the Keyblade, but it was the closest thing Manami had found yet.

The old man hummed his approval. "This one is different than most." he stated, "It's not quite as curved as the others and is a hand and a half for the hilt. The tsuba is rectangular, too, rather than circular. Most shinobi prefer the standard set of weapons but occasionally I get a special request."

Manami looked at the shop keeper in wonder. "How did you know this was the one for me?"

He simply chuckled as the moved towards the register. "They don't call me the Weapons Master for nothing, my dear. You have a unique form, one I've never encountered before. It was quite fun to watch. Now come, I have a special deal for you. You get a free set of standard weaponry with the purchase of the blade."

Manami beamed, pulling out her small change purse. _Now I can't wait to get to the training field and practice with this!_

FIN

 _*sigh* I can't tell you how great it feels to post again ~KunoichiBlade_


	27. Training Field 11

_Hello everyone! I come to you in the midst of finals period, oh joy -.- Took me forever to get this chapter out and took a completely different turn from where I originally wanted it to go. But I have to say I'm rather happy with the way it turned out ^_^ Sorry it's been so long... classes are getting more difficult by the second. Hope you enjoy! ~KB_

Ch 27: Training Field 11

* _thunkthunk_ *

* _thunk_ * _thunkthunktthhuunnkkthunkthunk_ *

* _thunk_ *

Manami grinned, _Such a satisfying sound_ , she thought. Walking over to the post she was using as target practice, Manami pulled her new kunai out of the trunk. The last one was particularly difficult to pull out.

She placed a foot on the post for leverage as she tugged. Nothing.

Huffing in frustration, Manami gripped hard around the handle and placed both feet on either side of the weapon. The buzz of energy she felt earlier returned; grasping on to that feeling, Manami let the energy flow through her, giving her strength. She braced herself and gave the kunai a mighty heave.

With a loud crack, the kunai dislodged itself from the trunk. Smiling, Manami went to toss the weapon to herself but watched as it fell upward.

Not back to her. _Upwards_.

Manami blinked.

She was looking left but was staring at the ground. Looking right, she saw the sky.

Something was up. Or down. Or both… _What the-?!_ she mentally exclaimed.

The surface beneath her feet splintered and before she knew what was happening, the air rushed past her and her cheek was squished against the grass.

Rolling onto her back, Manami tried to analyze what happened.

She blinked at the sky.

 _What just happened?_

"It looked to me like you were practicing chakra control."

Not realizing she voiced her thoughts aloud, the voice startled Manami and she immediately rolled over into a defensive crouch, kunai clutched in her hand. It wasn't until she looked up that she recognized who the voice belonged to.

Still tensed, Manami stood up and begrudgingly asked, "What are you doing here, Hatake-san?"

Kakashi shrugged and fell into a slouch. "I was wondering along the path of life and just so happened to pass you along the way."

Manami's brow twitched. _Wandering along the- Who does he think I am?! Even the Academy students wouldn't buy that cockamamie story_.

"So how are the lessons going?" he asked.

Manami sighed and tucked the kunai away. "Well enough, I suppose. Wait- why do you care?"

Kakashi shrugged again, "No particular reason. I just wanted to see if you had made any progress from the last time I saw you."

Manami bristled. "And what's that supposed to mean, exactly?" she asked suspiciously.

The two stared at each other, eyes narrowed. Manami found it impossible to read him. Everything was covered and his posture screamed relaxed, but she knew better. Their fight during her entry test was more than enough of a testament to that. There was something about Kakashi that Manami found absolutely frustrating but she couldn't pinpoint it. Which frustrated her even more about it.

"Forget it," Manami broke eye contact and turned towards her weapon stash. "I need to continue practicing."

She fiddled with her arsenal for a moment, organizing it so everything would fit back into the case. Slipping the last shuriken back into its slot, Manami heard Kakashi comment behind her, "As fun as it is watching you beat up an old post, it's not going to help you much."

She turned to face him, tying her new katana to her side. "Is that a challenge?"

Kakashi shrugged, _again_. "I'm just saying, a moving target is better than a stationary one."

She studied him for a moment and asked, "You offering?"

Manami thought he was going to carelessly shrug again, but instead Kakashi reached back to grab something out of his pouch. _If it's that damn book again, I swear—_

A glint of light was all the warning she had; her katana was out in a flash and deflected the two shuriken thrown at her. Her reflexes were sharp, but even that was too close for comfort.

"Alrighty then," she said, giving a small smile.

Gripping the hilt tightly, Manami lunged past Kakashi. The energy she felt earlier was thrumming through her veins again, waiting to be released. She focused the power in her legs and jumped.

It was almost like she was in Neverland again. Half-way to the clouds above, Manami felt like she was flying. Descending, she focused on a spot to land towards the center of the training field. As the grass got closer and closer, Manami braced for the landing but was not ready for the impact.

Literally.

Her legs gave out from under her instantly and it felt like even the earth below her moved as she crumpled to the ground.

"Manami!"

A haze of dust and confusion prevented Manami from processing what was going on. Her head fell to the side and her eyes began to slide shut. Before she knew it, a pair of warm hands held her face upwards. The dust began clear, but a shadow blocked the harsh rays of the sun.

"Manami. Manami, can you hear me?" the voice called again.

She groaned, wishing the voice would shut up and leave her in peace.

A deep sigh was released from the figure above her. "Thank goodness you're alright." It was so faint, Manami wasn't even sure she really heard it.

"Kakashi!"

Manami knew that voice. The one she had grown so familiar to for the past month.

Soft thumps steadily grew louder; the figure above her – _Kakashi?_ – shifted, laying her head back down. From the rustling of clothes, Manami guessed they had stood up, but were still blocking the sunlight. _How thoughtful…_

The murmuring of voices caught her attention. She struggled through the fog in her mind to comprehend what they were saying.

"What on earth happened here?!"

"Maa, Iruka-sensei, I was wondering on the path of life and-"

"I don't want to hear that bullshit from you Kakashi-san." Manami flinched from the harshness in his tone. "Why is Manami like this? What happened to her?!"

Kakashi continued to reply calmly, "I was going to spar with her but she used too much chakra when she jumped. It was impressive at first, but she landed wrong. I rushed over when I realized she hadn't gotten back up and found her like this. That's when you came."

"Chakra?!" Iruka exclaimed, "She shouldn't have been using that! I gave her specific instructions not to use any before I came."

There was a slight pause. Manami struggled to open her eyes or lift a limb, but her body refused to respond. She could only lie there and listen to what was happening.

"I don't think she realized she was using it."

Manami was stunned. Wouldn't she know if she was using chakra or not? She fought again to move _some_ part of her body, any part. Her finger twitched.

"What do you mean she didn't realize it?" Iruka asked cautiously.

Kakashi mulled over his words for a moment and replied, "While I did sense a large release of chakra when she jumped, I didn't see any hand seals."

"Even with-"

"Mhmm."

 _What was that last part about?_ Manami wondered. She was now able to flex the tips of her fingers. _Finally_ , she could get out of this predicament.

Mustering up what strength she could, Manami focused on trying to speak. Her tongue felt like a dried out sponge and she could barely open her lips.

"C- cc-"

"Manami!" Although she still couldn't see anything, Manami heard Iruka push past Kakashi and drop down beside her. "Manami are you alright?"

She groaned in response. "C- cu-"

"What is it? A cut? Concussion?"

"Manami-san is more than capable," Kakashi imputed, "Just give her a second."

Manami stopped for a moment. Was he _praising_ her?

Iruka had ceased his questioning but Manami could still feel the worry radiating off of him.

Finding her voice, Manami croaked out in a whisper, "Cure."

A swirl of green light circled Manami for a moment and faded without a trace. Groaning, Manami was able to sit up but still felt awful for some reason. _Why didn't Cure heal me more?_ she wondered.

"Manami? Are you alright?"

She looked over and found Iruka crouched beside her with Kakashi hovering behind him. "I think so," she replied.

Both ninja visibly relaxed, shoulders releasing the pent up tension. Out of the corner of her eye, Manami saw Kakashi pull his headband back down. Wait, _when did he push it up to begin with?!_

"I think her body went into shock." Iruka and Manami glanced up at Kakashi, puzzled. He shifted from one foot to the other and scratched at his silvery hair, clearly uncomfortable at the sudden attention. "Think about it. According to you, she just opened her chakra pathways and hasn't practiced using it yet. Then she accidentally releases a large amount all at once when she jumped. With the sudden chakra depletion, the strain on her body was simply too much."

That made a lot of sense. It explained why she was able to jump so high. _It also explains why the spell Cure didn't heal me completely. I need a Panacea to cure a shock ailment._

Iruka looked back at Manami, worry still evident in his eyes. He asked softly, "Can you stand?"

Manami nodded and shifted to her knees. Pushing up off the ground, Manami wobbled in place for a moment before almost falling over again. Both Kakashi and Iruka gripped her upper arms, holding her upright so she wouldn't drop to the ground.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

Iruka gave her a small smile, "Anytime."

"Maa, it's nothing," Kakashi replied. His visible eye curved up in a smile. "Just know that you owe me a rematch. I was looking forward to sparring with you."

Manami chuckled. She never would have thought that the great Kakashi would have looked forward to sparring with her. "I was too," she admitted. "Same time tomorrow?"

"Absolutely not!" Iruka interjected. "You are going to rest for another day or two. Your body needs to recover from the shock."

Manami sighed, "Yes, _mother_ ," she grinned evilly.

"Pffft-" Kakashi held back a chuckle.

"I am not your mother!" Iruka exclaimed, "I just care about you, alright?"

A silence fell between them. Manami stared at Iruka for a moment, noting the pink tinge on his cheeks from the warmth of the afternoon sun. His eyes shifted to the side and his startled look hardened. Turning her head to the other side, Manami saw Kakashi staring at Iruka intently. _What is going on?_ she thought. It was like they were having a silent conversation without her.

Facing Iruka again, she smiled softly, "I understand. Thank you for your concern."

A warm smile spread on his lips, "Of course. Now, let's get you home."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Iruka yawned. The evening shift in the Mission Room was rather uneventful. Only a few shinobi had turned in their reports.

His keys jingled as he locked the Mission Room doors and tucked them in his pocket. The night was quiet and peaceful as he began his walk home.

Taking a shortcut, Iruka walked along a not-so-worn path along the edge of some apartment complexes. Even though the trail was covered in shadows, with only an occasional glimpse of light from the main street, it got him home in almost half the time it normally would.

After passing one of the alleyways, Iruka felt a presence behind him. It stayed a few yards behind him, never getting closer than that. He casually slipped one of his hands in his pocket where he kept a kunai while the other rested on the strap of his bag that hid a few senbon.

Iruka passed the alley he would normally take getting to his apartment, opting to wait until the main road and avoid getting trapped in the alley.

The presence behind him vanished.

It was so sudden, Iruka almost missed it. Nonetheless, the feeling of being trailed had disappeared. Still suspicious, Iruka continued his original plan to continue to the main road.

As he approached the end of the trail, Iruka saw a figure leaning against a wall. It was covered in a shadow cast from the complex above. Iruka kept his calm demeanor but didn't move his hands from where his weapons were.

As he was passing the figure, it said in a low voice, "Cut it a little close today, don't ya think?"

Iruka stopped dead in his tracks. "You know I never intended for that to happen."

A quiet rumble came from the figure, "What do you plan to do now?"

"Nothing," Iruka snapped back, "Absolutely nothing."

The figure pushed off the wall, a hint of moonlight glancing off his silvery hair. He stood next to Iruka, commenting, "Be careful. This is a dangerous game you're playing." With that, he strode down the trail Iruka came from.

Iruka gripped the handle of the kunai in his pocket tightly. "You don't have to tell me twice."

FIN

 _*squeeeeeeeee* Kay. I'm good. (Not really) So what did you think?  
I'm curious to know where you think this is going ^3^_


	28. Surprise

_*squee* I got another one done :) ~KB_

 _Update 1/10/17 - fixed minor grammatical errors_

Ch 28: Surprise

"So what and where am I practicing today, Iruka-sensei?"

Iruka glanced over his shoulder, keeping a steady stride and grinned at Manami. "You'll see," he replied, "it's a surprise."

She shook her head but followed behind silently anyway. Over the past few weeks, Iruka had taught Manami how to use her chakra properly in accordance with the jutsus she was studying. He took her out to one of the various training fields to practice so the classroom wouldn't get damaged. While Manami found it easy to focus on a point of release and a target spot, she found it incredibly difficult to control the amount of chakra she released at a time.

Every day since she recovered from the sudden chakra depletion Manami had practiced her new ability.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

 _"_ _Waaaahhhhhhh-" Manami's yelp was cut off as she fell beneath the water's surface._

 _Before she could sink too far, a hand reached down after her and pulled her up. As her head broke the surface, Manami coughed up a mouthful of water and gasped for air._

 _"_ _12 minutes and 43 seconds, 38 seconds shorter than your last try." Iruka hoisted Manami out of the water completely for the seventh time that day and walked her back to the pier. "Are you sure you don't want to take a break?"_

 _Manami shook her head, mostly to shake off the water. "No. Not yet..."_

 _She stepped onto the pier and grabbed the towel they brought. Iruka frowned but stayed out on the water._ How is he still doing that?! _she mentally cried, patting off some of the water,_ I've been practicing this stupid Water Surface Walking for hours and can hardly last more than a few of minutes; meanwhile he hasn't stepped foot off the water since we started!

 _Manami peeped up and saw the look on Iruka's face. It was the one he gets when he's concerned about a student and is about to reprimand them._

 _"_ _Manami," he started, "I know you want to do as much as you can as soon as possible, but straining yourself too much won't help. It's been a little over a week since your chakra was opened; you need to give your body time to adjust."_

 _"_ _I'm not straining myself," she retorted, wringing the water from her hair, "I know when I've reached my limit."_

 _Iruka sighed but took a few steps away from the pier. Manami took a deep breath and went through the hand seals._

 _Feeling the chakra in motion, Manami focused the energy at the bottom of her feet and stepped on the water. As the water rippled, Manami adjusted the strength of chakra to keep herself above the surface. After standing there a moment Manami began to walk out towards Iruka. Her feet sank down a couple of times, but Manami didn't let that scare her like it did the first time. She refocused her chakra and kept walking. Manami felt Iruka's cautious eye on her as she wandered the lake, ready to jump in at any moment._

 _Fatigue began to creep up on Manami and she worked her way back to the pier. Plopping on the wooden surface, Manami laid back completely to rest._

 _"_ _At your limit yet?"_

 _Manami propped herself up and grinned at Iruka. "Told you I knew when I've reached it."_

 _Iruka shook his head, chuckling. "Not bad. 14 minutes and 39 seconds_ and _no falling in the water this time."_

 _Manami sat up properly and looked at the gently lapping water._ Soon _, she thought,_ soon I'll be able to walk on water as easily as on land.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Manami pulled out of that particular memory when she recognized Training Field 8 ahead of them. It was the area Manami most frequently practiced her jutsu skills under Iruka's supervision. Half of the area led into the forest while the other half was an open plateau. More often than not, Iruka would grade papers under the shade of a tree while she trained in the open field.

As they approached the edge of the tree line, Manami noticed a slight tension in Iruka's shoulders. He began looking around the clearing, mumbling to himself.

"Is everything alright?" Manami asked. "Was there something specific you wanted me to practice?"

Iruka gave her a small smile and scratched at the edge of his scar. "Well, I had a surprise planned but unfortunately it's running late… as usual."

Manami quirked an eyebrow, _What on earth is he talking about?_ Iruka laughed nervously and tugged at his ponytail. "Wanna sit down?"

Manami blinked at him. "Shouldn't I practice a new jutsu or something?"

"I- uh, that's not- um… That's not a bad idea," Iruka rambled, "but I don't want you to get worn out beforehand."

Releasing an exasperated sigh, Manami sat down on the grass and patted the spot next to her. Iruka grinned and happily obliged. "So," she started, "while we're waiting for your 'surprise' to show up, why don't you tell me how you got into teaching? I'm curious as to how and why you put up with those little rascals every day."

Iruka chuckled, "Alright, but you have to tell me something in return."

Manami tensed but kept her expression neutral, "Like what?" she asked warily.

"Hmm, how about the village you came from?" he replied. His eyes widened, "Only if that's okay with you! If it's too difficult to talk about, I understand."

Manami was confused for a moment but remembered her cover story for being in the village. A part of her wanted to tell Iruka the truth, he deserved it. After helping her so much in this new world and taking the extra time to teach her, Iruka deserved to know why she was really there. _But won't he think I'm a spy? Visiting a new world to do recon and get a lay of the land- oh yeah, nothing suspicious about that._ Manami pondered her other options. There wasn't really anything else to talk about. _Wow, am I really that plain?_

"Sure," she responded cautiously. "I suppose it's alright. But there's not much to tell."

Iruka smiled, "That's fine. I'd still like to hear about it." Reaching into his bag, Iruka grabbed the stack of papers from today's lesson. "So, how I got into teaching, huh? Let's see-"

Manami sat there next to him, captivated as she listened to his story. Iruka talked about how he grew up an orphan, always seeking attention as a prankster. It was hard to believe at first, but after he explained a few of his more elaborate pranks, Manami could visualize a little Iruka running around setting traps left and right. It definitely explained how he knew what the troublemakers of his class were always up to.

"…Shortly after I became a chuunin, the Third Hokage asked what I was going to do from there. He asked what my Will of Fire was."

"Will of Fire?" Manami interrupted, "What is that? I've heard you mention it once before in class."

Iruka paused his grading. He seemed to struggle finding words before replying, "The Will of Fire is a little different from person to person. It is the fire within us and the will to protect the village that keeps us going. The life of a shinobi isn't an easy one," Iruka paused for a moment, a sad smile on his face, "it isn't easy, but it's what we fight for. We fight for the village, we fight for our family. As for mine personally, it is to inspire my students and to pass on the Will of Fire to them."

Manami's gaze fell to the ground. _What is my Will of Fire?_ she pondered.

"So," Iruka continued, breaking Manami out of her thoughts. "What was your village like?"

Manami pondered her response. She had to be careful about her phrasing to avoid a slip up. "It's a small village, nowhere near the size of this one," she began. "There were shops and markets like any place, but it was quaint. I actually spent a lot of time away from it while I was training."

"Training for what?" Iruka asked.

Manami bit her tongue, thinking _I can't tell him I wielded a giant key as a weapon!_ "A type of swordsmanship," she replied, "I wanted to do what I could to protect the ones I love."

Iruka nodded. She noticed his hand reach across to his side as he commented, "I know how you feel."

Before she could continue, a whirring sound caught her attention.

* _C-clank_ *

Manami blocked two shuriken that came from the forest with her katana. She squinted but couldn't see far past the tree line.

Iruka sighed and stuffed the papers into his bag. "That, would be your surprise." he stated. "Typical for him to be so late."

Manami gave him a quizzical look but had to block another set of shuriken almost as soon as she looked away.

A shadowy figure appeared in the shadows of the trees and began making its way towards them. Manami crouched into a defensive stance and readied her weapon. As the figure stepped forward, Manami's grip on her katana tightened.

"Yo."

FIN

 _Well that was fun! Let me know what you think and thanks for reading! ~KunoichiBlade_


	29. Rematch

_Hello everyone! It's been some time hasn't it? I'm sorry for being gone so long; school was rather demanding. And this fall won't be any better... But! I'm here for the summer, so hopefully I'll be able to get some good stuff in before then. Thank you for sticking with me :D_

 _Disclaimer: I don't own anything KH or Naruto related. ~KB_

Ch 29: Rematch

Manami's grip on her katana tightened. _What is he doing here?_ she thought, glancing at Iruka who had a tired smile on his face.

"I was wondering if you were going to show up," he commented, standing up to greet the masked figure.

"Maa, isn't patience a virtue sensei?" Kakashi replied casually. His attention shifted to Manami, "You ready to go?"

"Huh?" Manami responded, caught off guard at the sudden question.

Kakashi looked back at Iruka, "You didn't tell her?"

"It was going to be a surprise!"

A grin broke out across Manami's face. The sheer amount of excitement bubbling up in her was too much to contain. "Is it really okay?" she asked hesitantly.

Iruka nodded. "After three weeks of training, I felt comfortable enough for you to try and apply what you've learned. There's no better way to test that than with a practice match. I asked Kakashi-san if he was still willing to do the rematch you two were so intent on having."

"Thank you so much, Iruka-sensei!" Manami exclaimed, practically jumping in the air.

Kakashi stepped forward and lead Manami to the middle of the clearing.

"Here are the rules," called Iruka from the side, "You must perform at least four different styles of jutsu each and attempt seven direct melee attacks. To win, you must create a string of combo attacks to pin your opponent on the ground with no weapons to fight back with."

"What ever happened to a good old-fashioned one-on-one spar?" Kakashi asked, twirling a kunai around.

Iruka's eyebrow quirked. "Maybe when you're with another high-rank jounin. But not against someone whose never been in real combat before."

"Hey!" Manami interjected, "I've been in combat before!"

Iruka and Kakashi looked at her. _They don't believe me…_

Anger began to bubble up inside of Manami. "Just because it's not the type of combat that you guys are used to, doesn't mean it should be discredited!"

"Oh really? And what type of combat would that be, Manami-san?" Kakashi asked.

Manami's shoulder's tensed. _Crap!_ _They can't know!_ _Nobody is supposed to know._ _What should I tell them?_ She frantically searched for an answer to give them without revealing the truth.

"It's more of a, you see- uh, well. Let's put it this way, I'm not used to fighting people." Manami concluded.

Kakashi furrowed his brows; he had stopped twirling the kunai too. "And what is that supposed to mean, exactly?"

Manami clenched her katana and met his questioning gaze. "Our- our village was surrounded by… monsters. If there was anything I ever fought, it was them."

Kakashi held the gaze for a moment longer. "I see," he sighed. "Ya know, people really aren't that different from monsters sometimes."

Manami gasped and took a step back. _What is he saying?!_

"There are people out there that are worse than monsters," Kakashi continued. His expression darkened, "People, that are so cruel, so twisted and vile- they don't even deserve to be called human. And sometimes, those are the ones we have to fight."

Manami was taken aback. _How can-?!_ _Well, I suppose_ he _was kind of like that…_ She took a step forward. "But that's what we're doing this for right? So I that I am able to fight these kinds of things? We can't just let them go free."

Iruka grinned, silently nodding his approval. Kakashi tilted his head as if in thought. "I suppose you're right," he shrugged. "Let's get started then."

Manami twirled her katana, "Game on."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Kakashi wasted no time in getting started. He rushed at Manami with the kunai and slashed it multiple times at her, pushing her backwards. She parred every blow with ease, knocking the kunai out of his hand on the last strike.

Manami countered with a three-strike combo to push Kakashi back. Following her movements, Kakashi shifted his retreat to guide Manami where he wanted her. He dodged every blow with ease as he inched towards the tree line.

Manami continued attacking with practiced movements; as she swung at Kakashi, he jumped up into the trees. Her katana lodged itself into the trunk as he had planned. _What will you do now?_ he mentally asked. Jumping further into the branches, Kakashi hid from Manami as she tried to dislodge her katana. While she was distracted, Kakashi created three shadow clones, each taking off in a different direction. Kakashi heard a grunt from down below. Peaking between the leaves and branches, he saw that Manami had dislodged her katana and was searching for him.

Creeping soundlessly above her, Kakashi followed Manami into the forest. _Right into my first trap_ , he thought as she entered a small clearing.

One of Kakashi's clones threw some kunai at Manami from its hiding spot. She rolled out of the way and into a wire trap. The wire strings bound around her ankles and hoisted her up in the air. The sudden changed caused Manami to drop her katana. Kakashi's clone waltzed over to pick up the fallen blade.

"Maa, that was almost too easy," it said, tying the blade to its side.

Manami growled at the clone, "Don't think this is over yet!" She whipped out a kunai and pointed it at the clone, shouting, "Areo!"

The real Kakashi watched from a distance as Manami shot a gust of wind at the clone, knocking it back several yards. _And knocking the katana loose_ , he noted. It also wasn't a jutsu; it was similar to the ice and lightening she used during their first match. The force of the blast caused Manami to swing in place from the wire. Using the momentum, she managed to swing herself on top of the branch she was hanging from.

Kakashi's clone was already back on its feet when Manami cut the wires loose. She made a few hand seals and threw an array of shuriken at the clone. _The Shadow Shuriken Technique?_ Kakashi thought, interesting.

He watched as his clone dodged the double onslaught of shuriken only to be met with Manami slashing her way forward with the kunai. The clone parred her blows but was forced backwards, her strikes more fierce than usual. It side-stepped one of her strikes and used the momentum to push her off balance.

Manami swiftly rolled into the fall and grabbed her katana as she stood up. With a yank of her wrist, a series of weapons flew towards the clone. It dodged them with ease but stepped onto an unsuspecting patch of senbon hidden in the grass, disappearing in a puff of smoke. _Clever girl_ , Kakashi thought, _but are you clever enough for the rest?_

"I knew it," Manami huffed, sheathing her katana. Kakashi quirked an eyebrow, it was a little early in the game for Manami to know he was playing with her. He watched as she sorted through the scattered array of weapons, tucking them away in their respective pouches. Manami walked around the small clearing for a moment before stopping in the center.

She twirled in a circle, eyeing the tree-line carefully. Kakashi instinctively masked his chakra and held completely still on the tree branch. Manami's eyes roamed over his hiding spot, continuously searching for him. She passed over him three times before stopping.

Unsheathing her katana again, Manami planted it firmly in the ground and took a deep breath. "Magnera!"

A giant glowing orb appeared above Manami with two rings of light rotating around it. They each had their own colored spheres circling the center. Kakashi felt himself being pulled towards the clearing. He struggled to get away, drawing closer with every failed attempt. Soon enough the force was strong enough to whisk Kakashi off his feet and towards the clearing.

His body hit the giant orb in the center and the rings around it acted like a force field keeping him in place. A soft thud to his left caught his attention. It appeared that one of his other clones had also gotten trapped.

Manami attacked without a moment's hesitation. She quickly took care of the clone before setting to work on Kakashi. He watched as she went through a series of hand signs, knowing her move before she was finished. Kakashi could hardly move against the magnetic ball he was stuck against, but was able to dodge most of the water bullets. Amongst the onslaught of liquid pellets was another array of weapons. Kakashi was able to knock the lethal ones out of the way, but sustained multiple scratches.

The orb behind him began to fade and Kakashi dropped to the ground. He rolled out of the way of another attack and bounced back on his feet. Dodging another attack, Kakashi flipped through the hand seals of Gōkakyū no Jutsu. He breathed through his fingers, creating a great ball of fire aimed at Manami.

Rather than the panicked ice blast she retaliated with last time, Kakashi watched as Manami used her chakra to release the jutsu Doroku Gaeshi. A large wall of earth erupted from the ground, shielding her from the fireball.

As the fire dissipated, Kakashi held his position. The forest was quiet. Too quiet.

He crept forward towards the earthen wall. Reaching out with his chakra, Kakashi could only feel faint traces of Manami's chakra signature. His senses on high alert, Kakashi rounded the wall, prepared for an attack that never came.

Kakashi swiveled his head around, looking for his opponent. _Where did she go?_ he pondered. He scoped around the clearing they were fighting in, but there was no sign of Manami.

Walking back to the earthen wall, Kakashi analyzed the possibilities for Manami's escape. There was a small patch of earth in the middle of the ground behind the wall where she once stood. She wasn't experienced enough for a teleportation jutsu nor did she have the chakra control needed for it.

There were no tracks indicating which direction she might have ran. His exposed eye roamed over the wall itself. While it was scorched on the other side from his fireball jutsu, this side appeared untouched, except-

Kakashi's fingers roamed over the center of the wall. There was a small indention laced with a few zig-zag patterns. Kakashi estimated it to be about nine inches tall and a few inches wide, _The perfect size for a footprint_. Kakashi looked in the opposite direction of where the footprint was located and found a straight path between the trees ahead. The brush seemed undisturbed, but a few yards away Kakashi could see where leaves and branches were pushed apart.

 _Bingo._

FIN.

 _So what'd ya think? As always, please feel free to leave feedback. Until next time! ~KunoichiBlade_


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